After a bolt of lightning sparked a wildfire on the south rim of Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park and grew to 1,640 acres, firefighters successfully protected the park’s visitor center from flames, federal fire officials said Friday morning.
The South Rim fire is one of two that sparked Thursday morning in the national park in western Colorado and prompted all staff and visitors to be evacuated. The other wildfire, on the north rim, is much smaller, according to Naaman Horn, a public affairs specialist with the National Parks Service.
At about midnight, firefighters saved the log cabin-style visitor center, which opened in 1966, by removing dried-up vegetation around the building and putting a protective layer of material on the outside to protect it from flames, Lorena Williams, a public information officer for the South Rim fire, told The Colorado Sun.
Crews will continue to work to protect the structures in the park Friday, she said.
From its origin, the fire spread Thursday east to the rim of the canyon before moving south along the rim, Williams said. The fire continued to grow overnight and is expected to get bigger Friday as high temperatures and gusty winds fuel the flames, Williams said.
The fire is 0% contained.
“Fire activity slows down in the evening, but we did see continued growth and we expect to see more today,” Williams said. “It’s going to be hot and windy, relative humidity is going to remain critically low, so we are anticipating another day of fire growth.”
The fire was reported at about 11:40 a.m. Thursday. Williams couldn’t provide an exact number of park visitors, backcountry hikers and park staff who were evacuated, but said all have been accounted for.
“Our focus is going to be first on firefighter and public safety, making sure that the humans involved are safe,” Williams said. “And then secondary, looking at protecting critical infrastructure, everything from power infrastructure to homes, other park service infrastructure, cultural sites and then of course, suppressing the fire.”
Some park equipment and outbuildings were damaged in the fire, she said.
The state’s multimission aircraft will use infrared technology to map the size of the fire again this afternoon, after smoke has settled, she said.
The South Rim fire is burning nine miles east of Montrose, according to Inciweb, a federal wildfire database. The park remains closed until further notice as fire crews from around the state help control the fires.
Firefighters are dropping retardant from the sky and fighting the fire from the ground.
Crews are also fighting the Sowbelly fire, burning in the Dominguez Canyon Wilderness Area in Mesa and Delta counties. As of Friday afternoon, it was about 2,192 acres, according to Inciweb.
It is one of several fires that were started Thursday by a regional lightning storm.
Smokejumpers are attacking the fire from above, but due to the difficult terrain and remote location, firefighters are having difficulty fighting the fire from the ground, federal fire managers said.
As of Friday, the state had deployed its entire aviation fleet to fight fires across Colorado, including two type II helicopters, a Firehawk helicopter and three air tankers, Tracy LeClair, a spokesperson for the state’s fire division said.
The state also sent more than 70 people, including firefightings, chiefs and other fire personnel, to support federal and local crews.
A red flag warning remains in effect through 8 p.m. Friday for gusty winds, low humidity and dry fuels that would allow any new fires that spark to spread quickly, according to the National Weather Service.
Forecasters at the National Weather Service’s Office in Grand Junction predict Friday will remain hot and dry. There’s a chance of afternoon thunderstorms with dry lightning and winds up to 50 mph.
