Wildfires ignite in Douglas County, add to damage from western slope blazes

At least four uncontained wildfires burning across Colorado s western slope on Sunday which together have destroyed thousands of acres amid hot dry weather prompted Gov Jared Polis to issue a calamity declaration Four ongoing fires were sparked by the same Thursday afternoon lightning storm and a fifth was on the verge of traveling into Colorado from Utah on Sunday according to fire agencies As those fires continued to burn for the fourth day another group sparked in Douglas County near Chatfield State Park according to South Metro Fire Rescue The size and cause of the metro-area fires remain unknown but Colorado Parks and Wildlife spokesperson Kara Van Hoose noted one burned at least acres inside the state park That small section of fire was extinguished Sunday afternoon but videos posted on social media by South Metro Fire Rescue proved the flames continue to spread across the grassy open space sending up a wall of smoke It s arduous for crews to get a size estimate because multiple spot fires are burning in the area South Metro Fire Rescue spokesperson Brian Willie announced The group of fires is in an area that stretches about miles alongside U S from Titan Road to Kelly Court Willie stated It s also about as wide as the gap from U S to Waterton Road but not all of the area is burning Willie announced the cause of the fires remains under study The first flames were communicated just after p m Sunday near the train tracks and a train was verified in the area but it s unknown if that s what sparked the fires he reported As of p m Sunday the four lightning-sparked fires on the western slope had charred nearly acres according to acreages disclosed by various agencies battling the fires across three counties The South Rim fire at Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park in Montrose County had grown to roughly acres with no containment when it was mapped Saturday night according to the National Park Arrangement Updated numbers were not available Sunday evening Dry weather high temperatures and strong winds spurred the fire s rapid upsurge on Saturday fire representatives commented The mandatory evacuation zone is bordered to the west by Lateral Ditch Road the north by Black Canyon the south by U S and the east by East Portal according to the National Park System It s unclear how multiple people have evacuated Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park remained closed to the inhabitants on Sunday with no timeline to reopen To the west the Sowbelly fire burning in the Dominguez Canyon Wilderness Area grew to acres across Montrose Delta and Mesa counties according to the Bureau of Land Management Two more fires in mountainous terrain near Gateway in Mesa County are proving demanding and dangerous for firefighters to tackle Operations Section Chief Tim Lavin noted in a Sunday morning briefing The Turner Gulch fire spread to roughly acres of Bureau of Land Management property Lavin explained That s nearly double the acres it was burning on Saturday evening Hotshot crews are working on containment lines around the fire but the mountainous area makes it dangerous for crews to work he revealed Nearby the Wright Draw fire had destroyed at least acres That estimate is from Saturday night but no size update was available Sunday The Wright Draw fire is sitting up on a very high very steep terrain ledge Lavin announced That fire at present has crept down and if it gets into this North Fork West Creek it will make a substantial run So we re trying to prepare for that As of Sunday evening Utah s Deer Creek fire had not yet been verified to cross the Colorado confines according to exigency administrators Related Articles Douglas County wildfires prompt evacuations spread over miles Man fatally shot in Denver apartment police searching for persons of interest Colorado wildfires Gov Polis makes tragedy declaration for wildfires burning thousands of acres on western slope killed in shooting at Arapahoe County house party killed several injured in shuttle bus crash near Denver International Airport The Deer Creek fire was hastily approaching the Utah-Colorado limit on Sunday after already destroying more than acres in eastern Utah largely on U S Forest Organization land according to fire agents It s still part of Gov Polis tragedy declaration and plan to allocate state materials but authorities won t know if it s crossed the confines until planes can run an infrared scan and generate a new fire map Sunday evening Utah functionaries mentioned Polis activated Colorado s State Exigency Operations and Pool Mobilization plans in response to the fires according to a news release from his office Those plans coordinate staff and materials through the State Crisis Operations Center and the Division of Fire Prevention and Control State tools will join hundreds of firefighters already on the ground across the state to fight the wildfires Get more Colorado news by signing up for our daily Your Morning Dozen email newsletter