Gusty winds and continued dry conditions today and Tuesday will challenge firefighters battling the growing Gold Mountain Fire north of Ouray.

The National Weather Service has issued a red flag warning that’s in effect until 8 p.m. today, and a fire weather watch from noon until 9 p.m. Tuesday. The forecasts, which cover the Uncompahgre Plateau and Dallas Divide areas, including Ridgway, indicate winds will be out of the southwest at 10 to 20 mph and could gust up to 45 mph.

There is no rain in the forecast for Ouray County through next weekend.

“Today looks like another bad weather day and tomorrow looks worse and there’s really no relief on the horizon,” Ouray County Commissioner Jake Niece said during a special meeting of the Board of County Commissioners this morning. “We should expect the fire to continue to grow for several days. We’re probably going to have a tough week here.”

Feds to assume control of fire operations

The Ouray County Sheriff’s Office and Ouray County-based fire departments have led management efforts on the fire since it broke out Saturday afternoon, but the federal Rocky Mountain Complex Incident Management Team is expected to take control of operations at 6 p.m. today. The fire, reported at 4,200 acres last night, has grown to roughly 7,100 acres as of this morning.

Niece said the federal team will bring significant resources with them and set up operations at the Ouray County 4-H Event Center and Fairgrounds. He said the public will see a lot of activity in that area and advised them to stay away.

Residents who lived here in 2019 may remember the response to the Cow Creek Fire, in which wildfire teams camped at the 4-H Center and based their operations there.

Evacuations and road closures

Mandatory evacuations remain in place for several neighborhoods and subdivisions, including Panoramic Heights, Lake Lenore, upper County Road 14, Peck’s Trailer Park and the area stretching north from Peck’s Trailer Park to Cedar Hill Cemetery on the east side of U.S. Highway 550.

The sheriff’s office early this afternoon ordered the evacuation of anyone hiking, camping or otherwise recreating in the area of Cow Creek on U.S. Forest Service land past the intersection of County Road 12 and County Road 12C, as the fire continues to spread northeast.

A pre-evacuation notice remains in effect for Black Lake to the intersection of County Road 23 and County Road 17 west of U.S. 550, including Idlewild and the Ouray KOA Campground, as well as for Whispering Pines to Black Lake along County Road 17.

County Manager Antonio Mendez emphasized the only people allowed in mandatory evacuated zones are law enforcement officers and firefighters.

“Anyone found there will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” he said.

Jennifer Peterson, a spokeswoman for the county, said authorities are working with evacuees to potentially allow them to briefly return to their homes in certain areas to grab any items they need or may have forgotten. It’s not clear when widespread access to the evacuated areas will be safe. It’s also not clear how many residents have evacuated.

Until now, evacuees with livestock have been allowed to keep livestock at the 4-H Center. But with federal authorities taking over fire management operations at the 4-H Center, livestock will be moved to Montrose, Peterson said.

Some local residents with pasture have offered to help and can be reached through the Gold Mountain Fire hotline. The Ouray County Cattlemen’s Association also invited anyone with livestock to reach out to Colorado State University Tri River Extension Agent Jaime Goza for assistance, at 970-275-5334.

U.S. Highway 550 remains closed to through traffic from the Timber Ridge service station north to the Whispering Pines bridge. Local traffic can take a detour on County Road 17 to get to their destinations in Ouray. All other traffic must take a longer detour using Colorado Highway 62 over Dallas Divide and Colorado Highway 145 through Mountain Village and over Lizard Head Pass.

Donations and offers of help

Niece thanked the public for their offers of donations and other assistance. He said all offers of help must go through the county’s emergency operations center, and that people should call the helpline at 970-626-5484. The helpline is being staffed by multiple people. If callers don’t get an answer, they should leave a message.

People can also fill out a form on the county’s website — ouraycountyco.gov — to make a donation or volunteer.

Niece discouraged residents from showing up in person with food or donations, noting there is a limited amount of space to keep food cold.

“Showing up with items is actually counterproductive,” he said.

Fire bans and limited water

County leaders reminded the public that the county, the city of Ouray and the town of Ridgway are all under stage 2 fire restrictions that went into effect Sunday. That ban prohibits all campfires or open fires of any kind, among other restrictions.

Despite the ban, Peterson said county officials had to extinguish three campfires Sunday night.

Niece asked residents to limit their water use to drinking water and household uses like showers, and to refrain from irrigation as much as possible.

He said the Tri-County Water Conservancy District, which serves a large portion of Ouray County stretching along the highway down to the Idlewild subdivision, is experiencing increased water use.

“We don’t want to run our storage tanks dry,” Niece said. “The tanks do get refilled, but if there’s too much going out, they can’t be filled up fast enough.”

Fourth of July impacts

Ouray City Administrator Michelle Metteer said she has been communicating with Ouray County Sheriff Justin Perry about the fire’s impact on the city’s annual Fourth of July festivities, which normally draw thousands of people to town. The city announced Sunday it is canceling the nighttime fireworks display due to dangerous fire conditions.

Metteer said she expects to decide later today or Tuesday morning whether to host a scaled-back Fourth of July celebration on Saturday or cancel the event altogether.

If the highway remains closed for the holiday, it would mean there’s only one route available to access Ouray from the north, a narrow dirt road that is not accustomed to heavy traffic.

Keeping the traditional holiday Fourth of July plans would also mean the Ouray Volunteer Fire Department, which normally handles the kids’ games in Fellin Park, the water fights and the fireworks, and participates in the parade with the Ridgway and Log Hill fire departments, would be spending resources on festivities instead of firefighting.