All staff and visitors at the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park were evacuated on Thursday as two wildfires sparked by lightning raged in opposite sections of the park.
Located 14 miles northeast of Montrose, the national park has been closed until further notice as fire crews work to manage the situation.
The wildfires ignited on Thursday morning, with one fire located near the south entrance and the other near the north rim of the park.
According to the Upper Colorado River Interagency Fire Management Unit, efforts are underway to respond to approximately 10 wildfires across the dispatch area, all of which have been attributed to recent lightning strikes.
State firefighters, employing both aerial and ground strategies, have been actively combating the flames at the South Rim fire, while equipment has also been dispatched to handle the situation on the north side.
The Colorado State Patrol is coordinating evacuations, particularly in the campgrounds within the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Forest region.
Campers Ali and Ethan Cameron experienced the dramatic weather conditions firsthand.
They woke up early Thursday morning, around 3 a.m., to a loud thunderclap above their tent, which prompted them to leave their tent and seek safety in their car.
Ethan Cameron shared, “We would see the flash, within a second hear the boom, and just had a bad feeling about it.”
The couple moved quickly, packing their belongings and leaving the park around 6:30 a.m.
Ali Cameron commented, “It wasn’t like a thunderstorm with rain, it was literally just lightning and thunder and wind.”
By the time they arrived home, near the Denver International Airport around 1 p.m., they learned about the park’s evacuation.
“This was our first experience with something like this, even though we’ve been camping since we were kids,” Ali noted.
The Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park offers two campgrounds—one on each rim, as well as a campground located at the bottom of the canyon.
The Montrose Fire District is also tackling another fire east of the South Rim blaze, although size estimates of the wildfires have not yet been provided.
The fire danger remains extremely high across the Western Slope, compounded by strong winds sweeping across dry terrain.
In Chaffee County, two homes were lost to a wildfire that ignited northwest of Buena Vista on Thursday afternoon.
Roughly 50 homes have been evacuated in the Mountain View Estates subdivision due to the fire, which had consumed about 60 acres by approximately 7:30 p.m.
The initial cause of the Mountain View fire has yet to be confirmed, though it was categorized as both a structure and wildfire, as reported by the Chaffee County Sheriff’s Office.
The Sheriff’s Office praised the initial firefighting response, stating, “Fire crews made a great initial attack on the fire with aircraft, which has been very helpful.”
Local, state, and federal crews have collaborated to address the situation.
Meanwhile, firefighters from the Grand Mesa Uncompahgre and Gunnison National Forests are working to manage four separate wildfires, all sparked by the recent thunderstorm activity in the area.
Two of these wildfires are located southeast of the Kannah Creek Trailhead, about 24 miles southeast of Grand Junction.
A separate fire is also reported near Sanborn Park, northeast of Norwood, while another blaze is near Patterson Mountain, north of Norwood.
The National Weather Service has issued a red flag warning for the area, remaining in effect until 8 p.m. Thursday.
This warning includes forecasts of winds measuring 10 to 20 mph with gusts reaching up to 35 mph, combined with low humidity levels.
“Any fire that develops will catch and spread quickly,” the weather service cautioned.
Updates on the situation will be provided as more information becomes available.
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