An air quality alert remains in place for Mesa County through Friday, due to slowly smoldering fires burning across that county and neighboring Montrose.
The South Rim Fire in Black Canyon of the Gunnison is 32% contained at 4,220 acres and hasn’t grown much over the past few days. Crews are reinforcing firelines and mopping up on the south side of the fire.
Fire managers are using a drone to monitor for heat and continuing to suppress fire lines in the Bostwick Park area.
The Turner Gulch Fire near Gateway, in Mesa County, is 17,747 acres and 41% contained. It’s grown very little this week, and firefighters said their efforts have largely been successful. Part of the fire is burning in a steep, inaccessible canyon. The much smaller Wright Draw Fire is 466 acres and 89% contained.
Smoke will continue to linger in the area as Turner Gulch makes its way through the canyons, at which point firefighters can more easily extinguish it.
Rob Powell, a section chief with a Rocky Mountain Incident Team that’s managing the fire, said they flew a drone up the steep pass, “and it was dangerous for the drone!” However, he said the fire was dying down. “Things are looking good here at Wright Draw,” he said in a Thursday morning update. Five hundred and thirty-five firefighters are still on the scene.
There’s a community meeting in Gateway Saturday at 6 p.m. with updates on the Turner Gulch and Wright Draw fires.
The Sowbelly fire in Dominguez-Escalante National Conservation Area is 90% contained at 2,274 acres. Fifty-five personnel are still on the scene, putting out hot spots identified by infrared flights to prevent future ignitions in the area. Roads and access points are being repaired and reopened.
Wildfire smoke is also blowing into the Grand Valley area, along the Utah border, from the Dragon Bravo Fire at Grand Canyon National Park, according to Amber Ortega, air resource advisor with the U.S. Forest Service. She said “areas that are low-lying are hard to clear out,” and that the smoke could linger for weeks, until the weather changes and wind pushes it out of the valleys.
Isolated thunderstorms are possible this afternoon, mainly along the Continental Divide. But the National Weather Service said hot, dry and windy conditions are expected to return this weekend, which could continue to stoke new and existing fires.
