Pine Gulch Fire Update: Containment Up To 81%

The Pine Gulch Fire continues to burn north of Grand Junction but firefighters are making great progress.

As of Tuesday, the fire that has burned since July 31 was at 81% containment and had burned 139, 007 acres.

Approximately 629 firefighters continue to monitor, patrol, and mop up the Pine Gulch Fire including air reconnaissance flights to check containment lines. Monday's dry weather with gusty winds caused some interior hot spots to flare up, but firelines were not threatened.

Repairing damage from fire suppression efforts is underway throughout the fire and the perimeter. The goal is to return the land to pre-fire conditions as much as possible. Priority areas include access roads used by oil and gas companies and hunters. Fire personnel are in contact with private landowners to get permission to do suppression repair on their properties.

As of late Tuesday afternoon, all evacuation and pre-evacuation orders for the Pine Gulch Fire have been lifted, but road closures are still in effect.

There has been a tremendous amount of work connected to the Pine Gulch Fire, not only on the firelines but behind the scenes as well. The hard work is paying off and we are definitely seeing a light at the end of the tunnel.