A wildfire near Grand Junction grew overnight and is now threatening a handful of houses and other structures, though no one has been ordered to evacuate.
The Pine Gulch fire, which was started by lightning Friday, has burned at least 3,460 acres in remote, steep terrain about 19 miles north of Grand Junction. It was 5% contained Monday night.
The blaze neared a home Sunday. Firefighters put down retardant and did some backburning around the home as the fire closed in, and the structure was saved, Bureau of Land Management spokeswoman Maribeth Pecotte said. The family who lived in the home stayed there during the effort.
At least one other home in Garfield County is threatened, and is about a half-mile from the edge of the fire, Pecotte said, and there are several less-developed structures, like sheds and hunting cabins, in the area. No evacuations have been ordered, although the roads into the area have been blocked.
Drivers have been going around the barriers, Pecotte said in a news release, saying their actions have been a “distraction and hazard” to firefighters and that local law enforcement will be tapped to enforce the closures.
About 95 firefighters were working the blaze Monday, including support from two helicopters and two air tankers.
Crews are working to survey the fire’s overnight growth, Pecotte said.
Wildfire map
Click markers for details, use buttons to change what wildfires are shown. Map data is automatically updated by government agencies and could lag real-time events. Incident types are numbered 1-5 — a type 1 incident is a large, complex wildfire affecting people and critical infrastructure, a type 5 incident is a small wildfire with few personnel involved. Find more information about incident types at the bottom of .