Pine Gulch Fire grows to nearly 24,000 acres in western Colorado

Pine Gulch Fire map — 3-D map of the Pine Gulch Fire looking north. The red line was the fire perimeter at 8:08 p.m. MDT August 8, 2020. The white line was the perimeter three days before.

The Pine Gulch Fire 15 miles north of Grand Junction and 19 miles west of Parachute, Colorado has been very active for the last three days, spreading to the west, southeast, and especially to the north (see map below). The growth on August 7 was described as explosive, and at 7 a.m. Sunday morning a large smoke column was forming, which is unusual for that time of day. The fire has burned 23,882 acres.

Smoke from the fire has been moving into eastern Colorado and other states to the east and northeast.

(To see all articles on Wildfire Today about the Pine Gulch Fire, including the most recent, click HERE.)

From the Incident Management Team Sunday morning at 10 MDT:

Humidity recovery was poor again overnight. Humidity will decrease through the day [Sunday] with an expected minimum relative humidity as low as 8%. Temperatures are expected to be 85-88 degrees. Winds out of the southwest are again expected to pick up to 15 mph through the day. If winds and slope align over the fire, there is a possibility for extreme fire behavior again today.

Garfield County issued an evacuation order for residences on CR 202 and a pre-evacuation order for all residences on county roads 204, 207, 209, and Clear Creek Road. For more information on evacuation orders, visit https://garfieldcounty.net/.