Evacuation orders lifted for wildfire near Carbondale in western Colorado
Evacuation orders for a wildfire that sparked in western Colorado near Carbondale in Garfield County have been lifted, as fire crews on Monday afternoon achieved 100% containment.
As of Monday morning, the fire reached 20% containment with 107 acres burned, according to the Carbondale & Rural Fire Protection District.
At 4:25 p.m., fire officials announced the fire reached 100% containment after crews on the ground and air fought the blaze.
County Road 113 between County Road 100 and County Road 121 reopened on Monday, officials said.
The blaze grew north of Panorama Drive below the Ranch at Coulter Creek subdivision Sunday afternoon. Carbondale & Rural Fire Protection District were first called at 11:04 a.m. to a wildland fire in the Missouri Heights area, according to a news release.
“Upon arrival,” officials said, “firefighters found an active fire burning in grass, pinyon, juniper, and sage moving at a fast rate of spread.”
“Crews immediately began suppression efforts from the ground while air resources were deployed to assist,” officials said.
Around noon Sunday the Garfield County Sheriff’s Office issued the evacuation order for residences in the Panorama subdivision and areas east of County Road 100 to Upper Cattle Creek Road.
While the fire is not contained, “the rate of spread has slowed due to coordinated efforts by ground crews and aerial resources,” officials said in a news release Sunday afternoon.
Crews on Monday were expected to focus on “cold trailing” the fire. According to a news release, “cold trailing is a mop‑up technique used to ensure the fire is fully extinguished by carefully inspecting and feeling along the fire’s edge to detect any remaining heat or hot spots.”
The blaze was initially threatening structures. According to the latest update, no homes were lost, though one outbuilding was destroyed.
“Firefighters on the ground worked aggressively to build fireline and protect homes while air crews made repeated water and retardant drops to slow the fire’s spread,” said Incident Commander Bill Gavette in news release posted to Facebook. “This was a true team effort. Ground crews worked with air crews attacking the fire from multiple angles. That coordinated response was key to stopping the Coulter Creek Fire.”
No injuries have been reported and the cause is under investigation by Carbondale Fire’s investigation team.
Authorities believe the fire possibly ignited from lightning strikes in the past few days.
The sheriff’s office expects to fully determine the cause throughout the week, officials said.
“The quick actions of firefighters combined with the support of air resources stopped this fire before it could cause greater damage,” Carbondale Fire Chief Rob Goodwin said in a statement Monday afternoon.
“This was a strong team effort that demonstrates the value of our mutual aid partnerships and the training our crews do year‑round to prepare for these situations,” he said. “I am grateful there were no injuries and no homes were lost in this fire.”
The Ranch at Coulter Creek fire comes amid several other large-scale fires nearing containment in the Western Slope and parts of Utah.
As of Monday, three other fires have burned nearly 5,000 acres in northwestern Colorado.
More than three weeks ago, lightning strikes sparked five wildfires that has, so far, consumed over 46,318 acres, according to U.S. government website InciWeb.
The wildfires have slowed in growth as crews continue to corral the flames, only burning an additional 3,887 acres since July 24.
This story is developing and will be updated.






