UPDATE | Our wildfire story from Wednesday, July 1, 2026 is here.
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Colorado's wildfires have burned more than 80,000 acres since last week and Tuesday will bring another day of prime conditions for more fire growth.
Denver7 is tracking the latest on all of these large and destructive wildfires in this story.
First, here's a look at Tuesday's forecast: The National Weather Service (NWS) is reporting that critical fire conditions will continue in Colorado's higher terrain Tuesday afternoon into the early evening hours. Sustained winds may reach 15 to 25 mph, with gusts up to 40 or 50 mph. Any wildfires will likely spread rapidly under these conditions, the NWS warned. Tuesday will likely be "the strongest day for fires" due to these winds, the NWS said. Winds may back off this weekend into early next week.
A red flag warning is in effect for almost the entire western two-thirds of the state until Tuesday evening.
Fire restrictions are in place for almost every county in the state. Check yours here.
The below map from NOAA shows smoke plumes impacting much of Colorado.
All of the below information on Colorado's wildfires will be updated as we learn more. All fire perimeter maps below are courtesy of Watch Duty.
Snyder Fire/Snyder Mesa Fire
- 📍Mesa County on Colorado-Utah border
- Size: 30,202 acres (as of Saturday, 8 a.m.)
- Containment: 95% (as of Friday, 8 a.m.)
- Start date: June 26
- Cause: Lightning
Three firefighters died fighting the Snyder Mesa Fire, also called the Snyder Fire, which is burning in Mesa County on the Utah-Colorado line.
Watch Duty reports it has burned more than 30,200 acres and is 10% contained as of Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. The contained area is along the southwest side of the fire.
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Family grieves 'brave' and 'kind' firefighter killed in Snyder Fire
The Upper Colorado River Interagency Fire Management Unit reported that lightning started this fire.
Pre-evacuations have been in place for the same area since June 28. It includes south of the Colorado River to BS Road (in the Glade Park area) and west of the Kingsview subdivision off Highway 340.
A map of this area is below.
An evacuation center managed by the American Red Cross is open at Grand Junction High School, according to the Colorado Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management.
Tuesday's firefighting effort will focus on the east side of the fire to keep it from spreading toward the Glade Park neighborhood. Fire officials said Tuesday afternoon that the fire's eastward progress slowed when it reached a rocky area with no or limited fuels.
Emergency closures are in place along the Colorado River downstream of Fruita until the Utah state line. An operations section chief said Tuesday that they had to rescue almost 120 people over the weekend from the area. Anybody floating the Colorado River must end their trip at the Fruita boat ramp, as there are no river takeout points between Fruita and the Utah state line, officials said. This closure is expected to last through the Fourth of July weekend.
Wildfire
120 people, 6 dogs, 1 cat rescued as Snyder Fire approached Colorado River
Mesa County Sheriff Todd Rowell stressed during a press conference on Monday that "this is not the time to start human-caused fire" as the Fourth approaches.
"We're going to have natural fires — we can't have human-caused fires," he said. "So, save your fireworks."
Rowell also said that drivers should make sure their vehicles aren't dragging chains, as that can also spark a wildfire.
Colorado Gov. Jared Polis verbally declared a disaster emergency in response to this fire on Saturday, June 27.
Gold Mountain Fire
- 📍Ouray County
- Size: 24,460 acres (as of Saturday, 12:30 p.m.)
- Containment: 0% (as of Saturday, 12:30 p.m.)
- Start date: June 27
- Cause: Unknown; possibly a tree fell on a power line
Ouray County declared a state of emergency on Sunday, June 28 for the Gold Mountain Fire, which originated on U.S. Forest Service land two miles northeast of the City of Ouray. The wind-driven fire is burning in extremely steep and rugged terrain.
According to the official Gold Mountain Fire Facebook page, the fire is 0% contained and has burned more than 12,000 acres as of 9:20 p.m. Tuesday.
Anybody in the Silverjack and West Fork of the Cimarron drainage areas are being evacuated Tuesday evening. The fire is expected to impact the Owl Creek Pass area as it runs up Stealey Mountain.
"The fire exhibited extreme fire behavior over the past two days under Red Flag conditions," the management team posted online. "It spread primarily to the east and northeast, into the Cow Creek drainage, up steep canyon walls, and north and northwest of Highway 550. During the night shift, firefighters reinforced firelines around Lake Lenore and County Road 14A. The fire remained active in several areas into the night and quieted down around midnight."
On Tuesday, firefighters planned to work around the southern edge to construct and reinforce fire lines to prevent the fire from spreading toward Ouray and the Lake Lenore area. They also planned to do the same on the western front to slow the fire's march toward US 550.
Multiple fire crews — both on the ground and in the air — have been ordered to assist. A U.S. Forest Service fire investigator responded to this wildfire to determine the cause.
Evacuations have been in place since Sunday for:
- Lake Lenore and Panoramic Heights areas
- Redstone Road
- Peck’s Trailer Park
- Cedar Hill Cemetery, east of US 550
- Anybody recreating in the area of Cow Creek on U.S. Forest Service land past the intersection of County Road 12
- NEW (2:45 p.m. Tuesday) Lower Cow Creek, east of County Road 12 and County Road 12A to the Owl Creek U.S. Forest Service boundary
- NEW (6:20 p.m. Tuesday) Area east of US 550 north of County Road 8 and south of County Road 8A to the USFS boundary south to County Road 8B along Cow Creek
A pre-evacuation notice is in place from Whispering Pines to Black Lake neighborhood along County Road 17, according to the county. Gunnison County is also reporting a pre-evacuation notice for the area just north of Hampton Lake and Fish Creek Reservoir in the southwest part of the county.
Click here for an interactive map of all current evacuations.
An evacuation center has been set up at the Ridgway Secondary School, located at 1200 Green St. in Ridgway.
A two-mile stretch of Highway 550 is closed north of Ouray due to this fire.
The Ouray Volunteer Fire Department is responding to this fire and is accepting donations here. The Ouray County's emergency response team reports there is an immediate need for drinks, including bottled water, sodas, sports drinks and other non-alcoholic beverages. Here's how to help.
Windy, dry and hot conditions will "result in moderate to extreme fire behavior throughout the course of the day," the incident management team reported Tuesday.
Colorado Gov. Jared Polis verbally declared a disaster emergency in response to the Gold Mountain Fire on Sunday.
Willow Fire
- 📍Lake County, west of Leadville
- Size: 2,969 acres (as of Saturday, 10 a.m.)
- Containment: 0% (as of Saturday, 10 a.m.)
- Start date: June 28
- Cause: Unknown
On Sunday afternoon, the Lake County Office of Emergency Management announced evacuations for the Willow Fire, which is burning on U.S. Forest Service land south of Turquoise Lake and west of the City of Leadville. It is about two miles northwest of the Leadville Fish Hatchery.
Mandatory evacuations are in place Tuesday for the following locations:
- County Road 4, 9, 9D, 5A, 48, and 99
- All trails from the Fish Hatchery
- All campgrounds around Turquoise Lake
- All trails up to treeline and Colorado Trail sections in this area (search and rescue teams helped with this effort)
- Hagerman Pass
Denver7 spoke with Matthew Garcia, public information officer with the Southwest Area Incident Management Team, which was called up to help bring more personnel and equipment. He explained crews were battling the east side of the river as this is 'where most of the values at risk are' referring to the Leadville National Fish Hatchery.
On Tuesday, our Denver7 team in Leadville noticed the strong winds and the thick smell of smoke in the air.
"Winds have definitely played a factor. I think the first day we had a northerly wind that kind of pushed the fire south," said Garcia. "If we switched to a southwesterly wind, it'll start pushing the fire closer to these communities and so we've been utilizing this northerly wind, this kind of break in this southwest winds to bolster this kind of portion of the fire and we're trying to establish what we call a containment line."
There are multiple federal and state agencies battling the Willow Fire including the new agency U.S. Wildland Fire Service. Garcia explained the steep and rugged terrain are inaccessible by vehicle, so their main priority is firefighter and public safety.
"One of the biggest things we do is we mitigate fatigue. We want to make sure our firefighters are getting plenty of rest, making sure that they're going under the fire with good, clear minds, with the ability to make good judgment," said Garcia.
Pre-evacuation orders apply to homes in the Grand West area, Mountain View East and West, Turquoise Lake Estates, Silver Hills Subdivision, and homes on County Roads 9, 17, and 4. Another pre-evacuation zone was added for northeast Leadville. An evacuation center is located at Colorado Mountain College Leadville Campus.
A map of current evacuations is here. A screenshot is below and shows evacuations as of 8 p.m. Tuesday.
Large animals can be brought to Buena Vista Rodeo Grounds with a recommendation to call Diana at 719-839-1933 about capacity.
▶️ WATCH: Denver7's Maggy Wolanske was in Leadville on Tuesday speaking with Sandy Booth, owner and operator of Andrew's Heavenly Horse Rescue, which is about 400 yards away from the mandatory evacuation line.
During a press conference Monday afternoon, Gov. Jared Polis said it is "quite likely or possible" that part of or all of the City of Leadville will be told to evacuate, depending on wind behavior in the afternoon. When Denver7 asked Lake County Sheriff Heath Speckman about this during a Monday evening press conference in Leadville, he said fire officials believed the fire would move toward Leadville on Monday, but it actually moved "in the complete other direction."
Multiple roads are closed in the area for first responders, including Turquoise Lake Road, Highway 300 at County Road 5 and County 5A (Fish Hatchery Loop), County Road 9 and County Road 99 intersection (Leadville Junction), and County Road 4 and County Road 48 (Turquoise Lake Dam entrance).
In an operational update posted online at 4 p.m. Tuesday, officials said that the majority of resources Tuesday were "on the 300 Road," and will stay there for the next 48 hours to protect the Leadville community east of the fire. Crews put in a dozer line around the Leadville National Fish Hatchery to protect it, as well as homes on the west side of 300. Two helicopters dropped water on the fire Tuesday.
Colorado Gov. Jared Polis verbally declared a disaster emergency for this fire on Monday morning. Sign up for emergency alerts here.
Aspen Acres Fire
- 📍Custer and Pueblo counties
- Size: 86,983 acres (as of Sunday)
- Containment: 13% (as of Sunday)
- Start date: June 29
- Cause: Human, under investigation
The Pueblo County Sheriff's Office reported on Monday morning that several agencies had responded to a wildfire near Aspen Acres in Custer County, which has since spread into Pueblo County. This is about 15 miles northwest of Colorado City.
At least 100 structures have been lost in this fire in Pueblo County, Pueblo County Sheriff David Lucero said in a press conference Tuesday afternoon. Custer County later posted online that they estimate 55 structures were destroyed in their county, mostly residential homes.
Fire crews are currently conducting damage assessments in the area and they will alert impacted homeowners once this is complete. The historic Horseshoe Lodge in Pueblo Mountain Park sustained significant damage, Sheriff Lucero said.
The Aspen Acres Fire has burned more than 28,000 acres and remains 0% contained. One firefighter was injured in Custer County on Monday, the sheriff's office said.
The acreage is expected to increase due to fire growth on the northwest side of the fire Tuesday evening as a storm rolled through, the Pueblo County Sheriff's Office said.
The area is under a red flag warning on Tuesday from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. It will likely be under the same warning on Wednesday, according to the National Weather Service out of Pueblo. Luckily, fire crews were able to make progress Tuesday morning when the winds were calmer. At one point, eight to 10 aircraft were in the air working to stop the flames, Sheriff Lucero said.
"Extreme fire behavior is likely as the day heats up and the winds increase," the Aspen Acres Fire 2026 Facebook page reads. "Short-range spotting is likely in areas where the fire moved downslope last night and the backing fire became a head fire with the southeast and slope winds."
The fire made an eight-mile run on Monday, said incident commander Phil Daniels on Tuesday afternoon. He added that evacuations will not lift Tuesday.
The following areas remain under an evacuation order, as of Tuesday evening:
- Lazy Acres
- Bishops Castle
- 12 Mile Road
- S. Pines Drive
- San Isabel
- Rye
- Beulah (including 12-mile, North Creek, S. Pine Drive, Beulah proper and east to Waterbarrel Road)
- 3R Road to Crow cutoff
- 3R Road east to Water Barrel Road
- Burn Mill Road to I-25
An evacuation center is set up at the Pueblo County Recreation Center, located at 1650 Cooper Place. Pets are permitted. The center is in need of items for pets, including blankets, towels and wet cat food.
An evacuation site for large animals is open at the Colorado State Fairgrounds. Rescue trucks are available to help — call 719-251-0245 for assistance. Donations of buckets and headlamps are welcome.
Highway 165 is closed from Highway 78 to the Pueblo County line at Lake Isabel.
A bridge thought to be 100 years old burned and collapsed on Highway 165 and CDOT sent out engineers to create a temporary bridge Tuesday evening, the Custer County Sheriff's Office said.
Colorado Gov. Jared Polis verbally declared a disaster emergency for this fire on Monday morning. Later that evening, FEMA authorized the use of federal funds to help with firefighting costs for this fire.
Ferris Fire (includes Far Draw Fire & Doe Canyon Fire)
- 📍Montezuma and Dolores counties
- Size: 38,274 acres (as of Saturday, 12:30 p.m.)
- Containment: 9% (as of Saturday, 12:30 p.m.)
- Start date: June 27
- Cause: Lightning
The Ferris Fire began burning in the Glade Area near Narraguinnep Canyon, about 15 miles northwest of Dolores, on June 27. As of Tuesday evening, the fire burned more than 21,000 acres, according to Watch Duty. The official Ferris Fire Facebook page reads that fire behavior is not quieting down as much as normal Tuesday evening.
The nearby Doe Canyon Fire and Far Draw Fire merged with the Ferris Fire, so the blaze is now being managed as the Ferris Fire. The suspected cause of the fire is lightning, according to the U.S. Forest Service.
Fire officials said a fire line was constructed on the east side of the Ferris Fire on Monday, including a containment line to protect the Glade Ranch subdivision.
The Lone Dome Road, Bradfield Campground, the campground down Highway 504 to the McPhee Dam and Glade Ranch subdivision have been under evacuation orders since Monday. Anybody who evacuated is welcome to come to the Pleasant View Fire Station at 15235 Road CC.
The fire has not reached any private lands or the Lookout Tower as of Monday evening. Operations Section Chief Pat Seekins said Tuesday morning that crews made good progress at the fire's southwest edge of the western-most finger. Their priority Tuesday was protecting structures, including the Glade Ranch subdivision to the northeast.
Crews were told to expect a "challenging day," fire officials said.
Around 6:15 p.m. on Tuesday, officials said that the day had "brought good progress earned by hard labor." Firefighters had dug fireline on the northeast edge of the fire to build a fire line north from the intersection of NFSR 240 and 514. Helicopters cooled the fire's edge on the southeast side to create a bigger barrier between the flames and private land.
"The noticeable smoke this afternoon has largely been from interior pockets of unburned fuel consuming in and around Narraguinnep Canyon," fire officials posted online.
"Today, aircraft were critical in supporting crews at the southeast and northeast parts of the fire," they continued. "Three heavy helicopters each delivered water for 7-8 hours and airtankers dropped roughly 50,000 gallons of retardant. Swing and night shifts will capitalize on this work, continuing to dig line and burn out where necessary to tie into roads and natural barriers like meadows."
Dolores Volunteer Fire & Rescue has responded to this fire and is accepting donations.
Stage 2 fire restrictions will go into place for the San Juan National Forest, meaning all campfires are prohibited, starting July 1.
11 Fire
- 📍 Fremont County
- Size: 107 acres (as of Thursday, 9:52 a.m.)
- Containment: 39% (as of Thursday, 9:52 a.m.)
- Start date: June 28
- Cause: Unknown
The 11 Fire began burning on the morning of June 28 around High Park Road and County Road 352A in Fremont County.
All evacuation orders and road closures for this fire were lifted at 6:40 p.m. Monday, the Fremont County Sheriff's Office said.
As of 10:45 a.m. Tuesday, the 100-acre fire is 30% contained, according to the sheriff's office.
A red flag warning will impact this area from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Tuesday, and likely again on Wednesday, according to the National Weather Service.
Big Sheep Fire
- 📍 Huerfano County
- Size: 1,322 acres (as of Saturday, 12:30 p.m.)
- Containment: 65% (as of Saturday, 12:30 p.m.)
- Start date: June 29
- Cause: Unknown
The Big Sheep Fire is burning west of Big Sheep Mountain and north of La Veta Pass in Huerfano County. It started on Monday.
The Huerfano County Sheriff's Office said multiple crews are on scene and a helicopter has been providing aerial assistance Tuesday.
"Overnight operations were successful," the sheriff's office said on Tuesday morning.
That success continued into Tuesday afternoon and evening, when the county announced that the 1,000-acre fire was 50% contained.
The cause remains under investigation.
The sheriff's office said Monday evening that the area "between the fire and Highway 69 and to Farisita" is under a pre-evacuation notice as a precaution. This will be reevaluated Tuesday evening, but remains in place otherwise. A map of the evacuation zone is not available.
This fire is called the Sheep Head Fire on Watch Duty, but officials say that is not the formal name.
Click here to sign up for alerts for this fire.
Dry Creek Fire (fully contained)
📍 South of Rifle
Size: 316 acres
Containment: 100%
Start date: June 23
Cause: Unknown
The Dry Creek Fire, which started burning on June 23, is fully contained. All evacuation orders were lifted on June 28 as of 8 p.m., according to Watch Duty.
▶️ Denver7 took a look at the reality of year-round wildfires in our special "Burned Out" in November. Watch it below and read our in-depth story here.