Updated at 6:34 p.m. on Friday, July 11, 2025.
Fires continue to blaze across the Western Slope as the region faces another hot, mostly dry, and potentially extremely windy weekend. Lightning sparked several fires across the area Thursday.
On Friday evening, Montrose County ordered the evacuation of Bostwick Park residents and the K73 Trail. Highway 347 was closed.
National Weather Service forecaster Chad Gimmestad said the Grand Junction area saw a string of 100-degree days recently, which isn’t entirely unusual for this time of year but was especially “bad for fire danger.”
Mesa County and much of the Western Slope are in extreme drought, which means there’s little moisture and lots of flammable dry grass and brush: kindling for fire.
An air quality alert for “moderate to heavy” wildfire smoke remains in effect for a large swath of southwest Colorado through 9 a.m. Saturday, according to the National Weather Service.
South Rim Fire
Multiple state and federal agencies are fighting a large fire in the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park, where two separate blazes started Thursday morning. The entire park remains evacuated and closed to the public.
The South Rim Fire has reached 1,640 acres and is zero percent contained. Firefighters were able to protect the visitor center, but the National Park Service reports that some park equipment and outbuildings are damaged. Most of the fire is on NPS land, though the southwest portion is burning on Bureau of Land Management land.
Asked about the situation, Montrose emergency manager Scott Hawkins nervously said, “Well, it’s busy,” adding that they were hoping for rain but very little is in the forecast this weekend. Instead, he fears the area could see more dry lightning.
“All fires have the potential to get bigger, but we’re hoping for the best,” Hawkins said, adding that there was some concern about “damage to critical infrastructure,” but he could not disclose details on which infrastructure. He said a team of 300 firefighters were working the fire, with crews from other Western states, including Oregon, helping on the fire line.
Firefighters are spraying retardant on infrastructure and vegetation alike, and using aircraft to try to control the fire.
Highway 347 near the park is closed, except to local traffic.
Mountain View Fire
The 60-acre Mountain View Fire near Buena Vista was fully contained as of Friday morning. However, evacuated residents will not be allowed back into their homes tonight, according to the Chaffee County Sheriff’s Office.
Containment means the fire will likely remain burning within its current area, though there’s a chance that it could jump outside that boundary. The sheriff’s office said it was working to restore power to evacuated homes and is approaching the cause of the fire as a criminal investigation “until proven otherwise.”
Sowbelly Fire
The Sowbelly Fire, in Delta and Mesa counties, remains at 2,192 acres and is zero percent contained. The Bureau of Land Management said the terrain and location inside the Dominguez Canyon Wilderness Area are still complicating efforts to fight the fire.
The fire caused a large smoke plume visible from Highway 50. Local crews and “smoke jumpers” — highly trained wildland firefighters — are responding.
Little Cimarron Fire
Another, smaller fire popped up Friday morning southeast of Montrose. The Little Cimarron Fire remained at 50 acres through the day Friday.
