Colorado wildfires: 4 Western Slope fires growing on thousands of acres

Lauren Penington, The Denver Post on Jul 17, 2025

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DENVER — The growth of one wildfire burning on Colorado’s Western Slope has slowed to a crawl, but four others continue to scorch thousands of acres, fire officials said.

Three of the four active fires in western Colorado were sparked July 10 during a lightning storm. The 2,274-acre Sowbelly fire, which hasn’t grown since Monday, was started by the same storm.

Together, the wildfires across Montrose, Delta and Mesa counties had burned 20,885 acres as of Wednesday night, and no size or containment updates were available Thursday morning.

Turner Gulch fire and Wright Draw fire near Gateway

The largest wildfire burning in Colorado, the Turner Gulch fire, had scorched 13,984 acres of Mesa County as of Wednesday night, fire officials said.

That's more than half the burn area from all the wildfires active on Colorado's Western Slope combined.

Extreme drought conditions, steep terrain and hot, dry weather continue to challenge firefighters as the fire rapidly spreads, according to federal officials.

Those conditions are similar to those of the deadly South Canyon fire in 1994 near Glenwood Springs, which killed 14 firefighters, fire behavior analyst Glen Lewis said at a Wednesday community meeting for the Turner Gulch and Wright Draw fires.

The Wright Draw fire, burning across Unaweep Canyon from the Turner Gulch fire, reached 448 acres Wednesday, fire officials said.

A size update was not available Thursday morning for either of the lightning-sparked wildfires in Mesa County.

Both fires are burning along Colorado 141, which remains closed between 7.40 Road and 16.10 Road at mile marker 124, according to state transportation officials.

Colorado 141 from mile marker 120 to mile marker 134 and the Divide Forks Campground Area both remain under mandatory evacuation orders Thursday, according to Mesa County sheriff’s officials. The stretch between mile markers 134 and 137 remains under pre-evacuation orders.

Deer Creek fire near Paradox

Increased cloud cover, light rain and less erratic winds helped slow the spread of a wildfire burning on the Utah-Colorado border Wednesday night, fire officials said.

The Deer Creek fire was burning on 14,760 acres of land between Colorado and Utah on Wednesday, though it's unclear how many acres it has consumed in Colorado.

It crept into Colorado near Paradox in Montrose County earlier this week, just north of Colorado 90.

Federal fire maps showed Wednesday that the wildfire was burning on a section of Colorado more than two miles long and, at its widest, roughly two miles across.

Rimrocker Trail at Q13 Road and Good Road, U5 Road at the turn for the Buckeye Reservoir and X2 Road all remain closed for fire activity, according to Montrose County officials.

South Rim fire near Montrose

The wildfire burning on more than 4,000 acres of land in Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park has consumed 85% of the park's south rim, fire officials said.

As of Wednesday night, the South Rim fire had burned 4,179 acres with no containment, according to federal fire maps.

Mandatory evacuations remain in effect for nearby homes and trails, including the Bostwick Park area.

Black Canyon remains closed to the public with no timeline to reopen, and all campground reservations have been canceled for the rest of 2025.

A section north of U.S. 50 along Colorado 347 and an area between Rawhide Gulch and the Montrose Reservoir remain under pre-evacuation orders, according to a map created by Montrose County officials.