Latest Details on Pine Gulch Fire Near Grand Junction
[Update as of 11:00 a.m. on 8/3/2020 - Bureau of Land Management has now said the fire has burned over 1,500 acres and is 5% contained.
We all have seen the smoke in the air since Friday evening when the Pine Gulch Fire got started due to a lightning strike. The location of the fire is approximately 18 miles north of Grand Junction still within Mesa County, it is one mile south of the Garfield county line.
As of the last report from the Bureau of Land Management in Colorado, the fire is over 1,020 acres with zero containment. What is making the fire so difficult to battle is the rugged train in which it is burning. As you know the weather has been hot and dry recently which makes it difficult for crews to fight and the weather isn't expected to change this week. We could see afternoon winds pick up which could mean even worse conditions for crews fighting the fire.
Ground crews are continuing to establish a containment line currently around the fire's south perimeter. But the dry conditions are making that difficult. Crews at this point are considering roads and other landscape features as ways to help contain the fire.
Right now there are 86 firefighting resources assigned to the fire with two engines, two fire modules, two Type-2 hand crews, and the Wyoming Hotshots crew with air support from two helicopters on top of one single-engine air tanker and two large air tankers. So as you can tell there are lots of resources being put toward fighting this fire. Please keep all fire crews in your thoughts today.
If you want to stay in the know about everything happening with the Pine Gulch Fire, click here so you can get information from BLM Fire Colorado.