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16h ago

Western Colorado Wildfires Remain Uncontained as Chatfield Blaze Hits 90% Containment

Colorado’s disaster declaration empowers federal incident management teams to deploy aircraft, ground crews, bulldozers, fire train for aggressive suppression.

A helicopter dumps water on a wildfire in Douglas County near Chatfield State Park on Sunday, July 13, 2025. (Photo courtesy of South Metro Fire Rescue)
A wildfire sparked just after 2 p.m. on Sunday, July 13, 2025, in unincorporated Douglas County, prompting evacuation orders for the town of Louviers, according to South Metro Fire Rescue.(Photo courtesy of South Metro Fire Rescue)
The lightning-sparked South Rim fire burning in Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park has burned more than 3,500 acres, fire officials said on Sunday, July 13, 2025. (Photo courtesy of the National Park Service).
A BNSF Railway firefighting train arrived in Colorado from Kansas on Monday, July 14, 2025, to help douse hotspots along train tracks in the area left behind by Sunday's series of grass fires. (Screengrab from South Metro Fire Rescue video)

Overview

  • Lightning-sparked blazes on Colorado’s western slope have charred more than 7,000 acres and remain uncontained.
  • Federal incident management teams have assumed command of suppression operations in Montrose, Delta and Mesa counties under the state emergency plan.
  • Gov. Jared Polis’s disaster declaration is active for three western counties, unlocking state emergency operations and resource mobilization.
  • In Douglas County, the Chatfield State Park wildfires reached 90% containment Monday and all mandatory evacuations were lifted.
  • BNSF Railway’s fire train arrived to saturate hotspots along rail lines as investigators probe the fires’ origins near the tracks.