A wildfire on Colorado’s Western Slope burned hundreds of acres on Tuesday and destroyed two buildings, including a home, but crews made progress Wednesday in slowing the fire’s spread.
crews near Rifle at about 3:20 p.m. Tuesday, . Mandatory evacuations were ordered for residents living on Gage Road and in the Grass Mesa Area, according to the agency.
That address is roughly 4 miles south of the Rifle Garfield County Airport, which is off Interstate 70, about 25 miles west of Glenwood Springs.
Winds quickly pushed the wildfire across hundreds of acres to the east and southeast of 899 Gage Road on Tuesday, fire officials said. As of Wednesday morning, the fire had burned an estimated 315 acres, .
By Wednesday afternoon, fire officials reported that crews had made good progress on the western perimeter by digging lines along the fire and laying hoses. The eastern perimeter was secure and crews were focused on putting out interior hot spots, Colorado River Fire Rescue said on social media. A helicopter was also on scene Wednesday.
A Colorado River Fire Rescue spokesman said structures under threat were to the east and west of the fire, but none burned Wednesday.
The Colorado Energy and Carbon Management Commission, the state agency that oversees oil and gas operations, was monitoring the wildfire’s impact on some of QB Energy’s oil and gas sites near Rifle and the West Mamm Creek area.QB Energy shut off production at some of its wells Tuesday as a precaution, but has since received approval to resume operations at various locations. Some well pads remained shut in near a burn scar on Wednesday because of the potential for hot spots, said John Brown, spokesman for the Energy and Carbon Management Commission, or ECMC.
“QB Energy is coordinating directly with wildfire incident command and first responders, and ECMC is supporting that coordination while monitoring any public safety or environmental concerns related to oil and gas operations,” Brown said.
Some evacuation orders remained in place on Wednesday, including to the south, because winds could further fan the flames, fire officials said.
The wildfire destroyed one home and one outbuilding on Tuesday, according to Colorado River Fire Rescue.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
“Current conditions are extremely dry, and any spark could start a fast-moving wildfire,” . “Residents and visitors are urged to exercise extreme caution in all outdoor activities and strictly comply with burn restrictions.”
An was issued Wednesday morning for parts of Colorado’s mountains and Western Slope because of wildfire smoke, according to the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment.
The advisory included Delta, Dolores, Eagle, Garfield, Gunnison, Hinsdale, La Plata, Mesa, Mineral, Montezuma, Montrose, Ouray, Pitkin, Rio Blanco, Saguache, San Juan and San Miguel counties. It will remain active until 9 a.m. Thursday.
Residents should remain indoors if smoke becomes thick, state health officials stated in the alert. If visibility drops to 5 miles or less, the smoke has reached unhealthy levels.
“This is especially true for those with heart disease, respiratory illnesses, the very young, and older adults,” state health officials wrote in the advisory. “Consider limiting outdoor activity when moderate to heavy smoke is present.”
Most of the smoke triggering the advisory is coming from fires burning in Utah and Nevada, state health officials said.
This is a developing story and may be updated.
