More than a week after lightning ignited wildfires, thousands of acres of Colorado’s Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park are still ablaze, and massive portions of the canyon’s South Rim have been destroyed.
On the morning of July 10, lightning strikes started fires in both the north and south rims of the park. Officials safely evacuated visitors and staff, and the park was closed until further notice.
The fire was at 0% containment as of July 16, before reaching 14% containment on July 18, according to the official South Rim Fire Facebook page. As of July 18, the size of the fire stood at 4,227 acres. The current deployment of staff includes five helicopters, eight crews, 22 engines, 15 pieces of heavy equipment, and 457 total personnel.
Firefighting teams are employing a variety of tactics to combat the fire. Helicopters dropped water on the southern side of the fire, where crews also worked to remove brush and debris to lower the chance of the fire spreading. The northwest side of the fire falls along “extremely steep terrain,” posing additional challenges to crews.
In a public forum held in Montrose, Colo., on July 15, park officials explained the severity of the fire. Park Superintendent Stewart West said that about 85% of the park’s south rim has burned, The Montrose Press reported.
“It looks very different than when you saw it last time,” West said.
Multiple Wildfires Burning
While the visitors center is unharmed, multiple other structures and areas in the park — including a facility management building, warehouse, welding shop, restrooms, campgrounds, and overlooks — are all destroyed or heavily damaged.
Montrose County officials issued a local disaster emergency notice on July 17. In addition to the fire in Black Gunnison, there are two other fires nearby, the Sowbelly Fire in the Dominguez Canyon Wilderness Area and the Deer Creek Fire, which started in Utah and has spread into Colorado.
“As of July 15, all three fires remain largely uncontained, threatening homes, public health, and natural resources across the county,” Montrose County officials said in a news release.
The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment issued an air quality health advisory for parts of Mesa and Montrose counties on July 18 due to the wildfire smoke.
Climbing Operators Uncertain of Impact
Jeremiah Meizis, lead guide and owner of Colorado Climbing Company, has been operating in Black Canyon for 3 years.
“I’ve been climbing in the Black Canyon since 2010, and I can’t recall any fires closing the park, or any huge fires in that area,” Meizis said.
His guides mainly take clients to the north rim of the park, which has so far avoided the worst of the wildfires. However, the company is waiting to charge clients for upcoming reservations until the park reopens.
“Most of our reservations are in August and September, so we’re concerned about those months,” Meizis says. “We’re just kind of holding our breath, wondering what’s gonna happen.”
Todd Rutledge, owner of Mountain Trip, a guiding service based in the nearby San Juan Mountains, echoes this concern: “I’ve lived in this part of the state for 25 years and I can think of maybe less than a half-dozen fires like this.” The fire in Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park is occurring at the same time that two wildfires are devastating Grand Canyon National Park.
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