Fires near the Colorado-Utah border are prompting pre-evacuation orders, the Mesa County sheriff's office posted Saturday afternoon.
"There are multiple fires active on federal lands, with conditions that are prompting these orders," the post says.
Pre-evac orders were issued to all properties on BS Road west of 11 5/10 Road to the Utah border, according to the post, and deputies are notifying residents in person.
The sheriff has also ordered the closure of A 2/10 Road at DS Road and BS Road up to the Bureau of Land Management boundary, according to the post.
The Upper Colorado River Interagency Fire Management Unit said around 1 p.m. Saturday it was responding to eight confirmed wildfires burning on BLM land in Colorado and Utah. The largest, the Jones Fire, was burning just a mile west of the Utah-Colorado border and had burned about 1,450 acres at that time. The Snyder Mesa fire, also about a mile west of the border, had grown to an estimated 100 acres Saturday around 4:30 p.m., according to the app Watch Duty.
The Colorado Department of Public Health also issued an air quality alert due to the wildfire smoke for Dolores, San Miguel, Ouray, Montrose, Delta, Gunnison, Pitkin and Montezuma Counties through Sunday.
"If smoke is thick or becomes thick in your neighborhood you may want to remain indoors," the alert says. "This is especially true for those with heart disease, respiratory illnesses, the very young, and older adults. Consider limiting outdoor activity when moderate to heavy smoke is present. Consider relocating temporarily if smoke is present indoors and is making you ill. If visibility is less than 5 miles in smoke in your neighborhood, smoke has reached levels that are unhealthy."
This is a developing story that will be updated.
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