Mother Nature has provided a helping hand in slowing the growth of several wildfires around Colorado.
Cache Creek fire
Pockets of dead timber are still burning inside the fire about 8 miles southwest of Rifle.
Cooler temperatures, rain and increased humidity helped firefighters battling the Cache Creek fire, which grew to 1,409 acres with no containment Saturday.
Officials warned nearby residents that smoke would be visible and clouds, as they roll out Sunday, will be replaced by heat.
“Firefighters have made significant progress creating fire line around much of the Cache Creek fire,” read an update from the Rocky Mountain Incident Management team. “As fire lines cool and firefighters extinguish hot spots, incident managers anticipate increasing containment in the next days.”
Pre-evacuations remain along Battlement Creek Reservoir Road and portions of Cache Creek Road. Anyone with questions about the Cache Creek Fire evacuations is asked to call 970-665-0207.
Red Canyon fire
A solid amount of precipitation this weekend allowed firefighters to work directly on the fire’s edge, helping containment to reach 30 percent. The fire, started by lighting July 29, is about 31 miles south of Rangely.
Crews are still finding the terrain difficult, as topography and fuels make it unsafe to build fire lines near the fire’s perimeter, according to fire managers.
The public can expect to see increased smoke when conditions allow firefighters to burn from roads to increase containment levels, officials said. Residents were allowed to return to their home at 8 a.m. Saturday. While evacuations were lifted for homeowners off of Rio Blanco County Road 27, the area remains closed to the public.
Indian Valley fire
Fire managers are pleased with the progress on the Indian Valley fire, 16 miles northwest of Meeker. Moderate rains over the fire area have helped keep fire activity at a minimum and the blaze — which started July 20 and was caused by lighting — is 95 percent contained. In the next 24 hours, crews will find heat sources to extinguish to reduce any flareups, according to fire officials.
Bull Draw fire
The fire is about 12 miles northeast of Nucla. Crews continued to secure a solid containment line along the east flank of the fire, which is only about 35 percent contained. Most of the fire activity was on the north and northwest section of the fire on Uncompahgre National Forest and BLM lands, fire bosses said.
Air tankers were used to slow the spread farther north. Firefighters also investigated reports of a new fire in the area Friday night and determined it to be part of the Bull Draw fire.
Smoke and ash may be visible from locations in San Miguel, Delta and Montrose counties. Other fires across the west are affecting overall air quality and smoke in the area, fire officials said.
Wildfires in Colorado and the U.S.
The map shows active wildfire locations and all 2018 fire perimeters*. The map defaults to Colorado; to see all wildfires, click “U.S.” in the view area. Click the map layers icon in the top right corner of the map to change map backgrounds and to toggle active and contained fires, and perimeters. Click a marker or perimeter for details. To view the full map and a table of all 2018 wildfires, click here.
*Data comes from two sources, and , and could contain inconsistencies. Map by Kevin Hamm and Daniel J. Schneider.