MONTROSE COUNTY, Colo. — The North Rim of Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park is opening Wednesday, but lots of work still remains before the South Rim can open because of the lingering effects of the South Rim Fire.
The park has been closed since July 10 due to the fire that’s burned through 4,200 acres. It began due to a lightning strike, and it became evident quickly that it would grow into something serious.
“We knew at that point that it was going to gain some steam, and we needed to get people out,” Black Canyon National Park Superintendent Stuart West said. “We started evacuation, which took about two and a half hours, but everybody got out just fine.”
Fire Management Officer for the Southwest District of Colorado BLM Rusty Stark believes that, while the fire only sits at 41% containment, it likely won’t grow much larger because of the natural geography of the park. Black Canyon is split into two halves — the South Rim and North Rims by the Gunnison River far below the canyon walls.
The South Rim sees the bulk of visitors and is where the main visitor center is located.
“While the risk is never zero, we do have a pretty large area between where the fire is sitting and the vegetation on the other side of the river,” Stark said.
Another reason for his confidence is because of how firefighters record containment data. In order to say that a section of a fire is contained, the park needs to be able to physically put a firefighter in that area. They would love to be able to do that along the canyon to confirm the fire isn’t spreading there, but the rocky terrain prevents them from doing so.
“We we can't get firefighters around the entire perimeter to put their hands in the dirt, and make sure it's cold and out,” Stark said. “With the challenges of the canyon, we just can't put folks in there to do direct work and put it out. This is just one example of the difficulties we face when we are suppressing wildland fires, and the Black Canyon here is a very significant geologic feature.”
The entire North Rim of the park is opening up to the public, but the South Rim will remain closed for now. Once park staff repairs some of the damage to facilities and verifies areas are safe, they will start opening the South Rim incrementally — starting with Rim Drive, which attracts 80% of the park’s visitors. All but one of the overlooks along Rim Drive remain undamaged, offering unique views.
“The experience they’re going to have is going to be different, but it’s going to be different in kind of a cool way,” West said. “They're going to see both the green and what it looks like to be burned over in places.”
Despite the destruction caused by the fire, West takes a mindful approach.
“This is an area that depends on fire every once in a while,” West said. “The last big fire here was 30 years ago. This is just the rhythm of Mother Nature."
