Smoke, Flames, and Grit: Photos From Colorado’s Wild July Fires

July has been an unreal month for firefighters and first responders in Western Colorado. Lightning strikes have caused wildfires to burn through more than 40,000 acres in Mesa, Delta, Montrose, and San Juan (Utah) counties combined.

The smoke pouring out of Unaweep Canyon, or the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park, has been hard to miss over the last couple of weeks. See firsthand what each of these fires has been like for our firefighters in the gallery below.

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How Lightning Sparked Colorado's Wildfires

Wildfires often take their names from the nearest geographic feature, landmark, or sometimes the name of the property or road where the fire started. Some of the fires burning in Western Colorado provide good examples of this process.

• South Rim Fire: Named for the South Rim of the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park, where the fire started.
• Deer Creek Fire: Named for a place closest to the ignition point in the foothills of the La Sal Mountains.
• Wright Draw Fire: Named after the drainage area on BLM land where the fire started.
• Turner Gulch Fire: Named after the Turner Gulch drainage area, struck by lightning
• Sowbelly Fire: Named for the Sowbelly Gulch area, ignition point.

The Impact of July Wildfires in Western Colorado

• The South Rim Fire at the Black Canyon caused the longest closure of South Rim Drive in Black Canyon history. 19 days.
• The Sowbelly Fire: This fire burned through a remote canyon area that came close to several historic uranium mining sites. A single red flag wind event doubled the size of this fire on Day 4.
• Lightning struck an area within Turner Gulch that had not seen a significant fire in more than 90 years. All this fuel load helped the fire spread rapidly through Unaweep Canyon.
• The Wright Draw Fire burns near a fiber-optic line that serves Delta and Montrose counties, and requires consistent protection. Large logs in the fire are burning to ash in just hours because the fuel is so dry.
• On July 12^th, the Deer Creek Fire produced a ‘Fire-nado’ with winds reaching approximately 122 mph.