The Gold Mountain Fire has forced new evacuations in Gunnison County on Monday morning as it continues to burn north.
The fire entered southwest Gunnison County, triggering a mandatory evacuation and voluntary evacuation on Monday morning. Click here for the most up-to-date interactive map showing evacuations for this fire.
This fire, which started on June 27, has grown to 27,698 acres and is 3% contained, as of noon Monday. The cause is under investigation.
To sign up for emergency alerts, visit the Gunnison County website for its emergency management department, Hinsdale County's emergency alert signup page, and Ouray County's alert center website.
Monday, July 6
9:57 a.m. | Operations update | In an operations update video posted Monday morning, Operations Section Chief Jeramy Dietz said while crews have secured containment on the south end of the fire, firefighters are staying vigilant and will continue to have a presence there.
Dietz explained that divisions are in place farther north of the fire, as experts were not able to find any good place to put resources closer to the line. Firefighters in those northern divisions are building firelines, should the blaze reach them. If conditions change, the crews will adapt, Dietz said.
He said he expects to gain more containment on the southeastern edge of the fire in the next few days.
9:21 a.m. | Incident management team update from Sunday efforts| Firefighters were able to reinforce indirect containment lines between Baldy Peak and County Road 12 on Sunday afternoon, thanks to lighter winds and better conditions. These efforts will help protect Ridgway, Ouray, the US 550 corridor and communities north and northwest of the fire.
The 3% containment is on the southern edge of the fire, the Rocky Mountain Incident Management Team reported.
There is a 30% chance of thunderstorms that may bring erratic winds and lightning on Monday.
8:08 a.m. | New evacuations | Gunnison County has announced new mandatory and voluntary evacuation orders.
The mandatory evacuations are now in place for the area south of Storm King and east of Cimarron Ridge to County Road 864A in the Cimarron Valley to the U.S. Forest Service boundary. This includes the Bear Claw, Silver Jack, Eagle's Rest, and Little Bighorn subdivisions, according to the Gunnison County Emergency Management department.
Voluntary evacuations are in place for the area east of County Road 864A and west of Big Blue Creek, up to the BLM boundary; and south of the intersection of County Road 883 and County Road 864, also known as Little Cimarron; and north of the U.S. Forest Service Boundary. This includes Johnson Park Road and Little Cimarron Road within this boundary.
Sunday, July 5
3:27 p.m. | Update from firefighters | Steep and rugged terrain stopped firefighters from putting fireline directly at the fire's edge in the Baldy Peak area on Sunday afternoon. Instead, the crews constructed indirect containment lines from Baldy Peak to County Road 12, according to fire officials.
Firefighters tested out this line at 3 p.m. on Sunday, which "led to the decision to move forward," officials wrote on the Gold Mountain Fire Facebook page.
"This afternoon and evening, smoke from strategic firing operations will be very visible from the Baldy Peak area to the town of Ridgway and the Highway 550 corridor," fire officials said. "Once completed, the firelines will provide firefighters with a line of defense with the highest probability of success should the fire spread in that direction."