As crews progress toward full containment on the Snyder Fire, Colorado Parks and Wildlife has lifted closures on the Colorado River.
The Snyder Fire, which sparked over a week ago near the Colorado-Utah state line, is 98% contained and has burned more than 30,200 acres, as of Tuesday morning.
The previous closure from the James M. Robb-Colorado River State Park in Fruita to the Utah state line lifted Tuesday at noon, Colorado Parks and Wildlife announced. The boat ramp at the Fruita section of the state park also reopened.
"We want to thank everyone for their support and patience during the closures,” said Grand Junction Area Wildlife Manager Kirk Oldham in a release. “While we know the timing of this closure was not ideal, we greatly appreciate everyone’s cooperation in supporting firefighting efforts.”
Along with river access, CPW also reopened the Horsethief State Wildlife Area and the Loma Boat Launch State Wildlife Area.
The Bureau of Land Management announced that while it was lifting the closure on access to the Ruby Horsethief section of the Colorado River and other public lands in Mesa County, Colo. and Grand County, Utah, emergency closures remain in place for all lands within the fire perimeter "to ensure public and firefighter safety."
"The burned landscape – including vegetation – remains dynamic and unpredictable as it naturally recovers from the fire impacts," the release from BLM officials states.
Rafters and campers along a stretch of the river were evacuated the weekend of June 27 as the blaze neared the river corridor. Mesa County Search and Rescue officials said the operation — which involved evacuating 120 people, six dogs and a cat — was their most complex in recent memory.
Three firefighters died fighting this fire during a burnover incident on June 27. They have been identified as Emily Barker, 38, Nick Hutcherson, 27, and Sydney Watson, 27.
Gov. Polis verbally declared a disaster emergency in response to the fire on Saturday, June 27.
The cause of the Snyder Fire is still undetermined, according to the most recent update from the incident management team. The Upper Colorado River Interagency Fire Management Unit said June 28 that the fire was initially sparked by lightning.
The fire is just one of more than half a dozen large fires that have been burning in the state over the last week. The largest, the Aspen Acres Fire, has burned more than 93,630 acres and has destroyed more than 260 homes, is 15% contained as of Tuesday morning.
Denver7 is tracking the latest information on each of the wildfires burning in Colorado. If you'd like to catch up on coverage from last week, check out stories from Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday through the weekend.
◼️ MORE | Extensive Denver7 coverage of other Colorado wildfires
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