Western Slope wildfires continue rampage; smoke causing health concerns
Four major wildfires continued blazing through Western Slope forests Saturday, growing by thousands of acres, forcing evacuations and polluting air throughout the state.
Having mostly spared Hanging Lake in Glenwood Canyon in a major blowup Thursday, the Grizzly Creek fire east of Glenwood Springs grew about 6,000 acres to nearly 20,000 acres, The U.S. Forest Service said.
It’s been the highest firefighting priority in the nation since it started Monday because it has made Interstate 70 impassable.
The fires is zero percent contained, although winds died down slightly Saturday, helping the more than 550 firefighters battling the flames to keep the fire from spreading even more, the Glenwood Springs Post Independent reported.
A very large airtanker flies around the plume of smoke billowing from the Grizzly Creek Fire as it blows up in No Name Canyon on Wednesday afternoon. A very large airtanker flies around the plume of smoke billowing from the Grizzly Creek Fire as it blows up in No Name Canyon on Wednesday afternoon.
By Sunday, the Grizzly Creek fire reached 25,690 acres.
To the relief of forest managers and outdoor recreationists, the fire left Hanging Lake largely unscathed when the fire doubled in size and burned over the area Thursday night.
“This afternoon, we flew over Hanging Lake to asses impacts from the Grizzly Creek fire,” White River National Forest posted Friday on Twitter. “The immediate area around Hanging Lake, the boardwalk, the upper reaches of the trail did not burn.”
Fire crews work to battle the Grizzly Creek Fire as it shoots down the ridge into No Name Canyon on Tuesday afternoon after the fire initially started on Interstate 70 on Monday at MM 120. Fire crews work to battle the Grizzly Creek Fire as it shoots down the ridge into No Name Canyon on Tuesday afternoon after the fire initially started on Interstate 70 on Monday at MM 120.
Right behind in the priority ranking is the much larger Pine Gulch fire that has consumed almost 75,000 acres in sparsely populated areas north of Grand Junction.
The hot, dry, windy conditions have also hampered efforts to contain the lightning-caused fire that broke out July 31 and is now the fifth largest in state history. Nearly 800 firefighters have made no headway for days, with containment remaining at 7%, the Bureau of Land Management said.
Two other smaller fires — Williams Fork in the Arapaho National Forest 15 miles northwest of Fraser and Cameron Peak west of Fort Collins in the Roosevelt National Forest — grew overnight.
Early Sunday, Cameron Peak fire had grown to more than 5,750 acres, while the Williams Fork fire was 4,300 acres with zero percent containment, the Forest Service said.
See a map of the wildfires here.
Smoke from the fires has created air quality and health concerns along the northern and central Front Range.
“Little to no short-term improvement in air quality from Denver to Fort Collins, and westward up to the Continental Divide,” the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment tweeted Saturday. “Wildfire smoke producing a nasty mix of particulate pollution and ozone. Limit time outdoors if you can.”
Haze caused by the smoke from the wildfires has drifted into Teller and parts of El Paso counties, raising ozone levels, the health department said.
No injuries have been reported from any of the fires and only one structure has been reported damaged, an abandoned building burned in the Pine Gulch fire.
A man watches and takes photos of the Grizzly Creek Fire as it blows up in No Name Canyon on Tuesday afternoon after the fire initially started on Interstate 70 on Monday at MM 120. A man watches and takes photos of the Grizzly Creek Fire as it blows up in No Name Canyon on Tuesday afternoon after the fire initially started on Interstate 70 on Monday at MM 120.
Fire crews work to battle the Grizzly Creek fire as it shoots down the ridge into No Name Canyon on Tuesday afternoon after the fire initially started on Interstate 70 a day earlier at MM 120.