Over 4200 Acres Burned in South Rim Wildfire, Now 50% Contained

By Jacob Factor | KDVR Fox31

DENVER (KDVR) — As containment grows for the more than 4,000-acre wildfire burning in Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park, officials have detailed some of the park’s losses, what crews have saved and what’s next for the park as portions reopen.

Fire officials recently published a detailed story map of the South Rim Fire, which has burned about 4,200 acres in the National Park in Montrose County and just Wednesday surpassed 50% containment. The fire has been burning since lightning ignited it and several other Colorado wildfires on July 10.

Fire officials in a Wednesday morning update said the north rim side of the National Park is also set to reopen Wednesday.

Here’s a look at where the South Rim Fire is now and how the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park has fared during the nearly three-week blaze.

Successes and losses in South Rim Fire

Fire officials said in the story map the primary objective of responders has been public firefighter safety while minimizing threats to communities, private land and buildings, National Park Service resources and infrastructure and municipal utility infrastructure.

To that end, no one died or was injured during the park’s initial evacuation, and no homes or private buildings burned, officials said.

Key NPS structures were also saved, including:

• Visitor Center
• The Brown House
• Administration and employee housing building
• All buildings at the East Portal
• The Gunnison Tunnel structure and flows

The park did however suffer some losses, including:

• 3,456 square feet maintenance building
• 1,248 square feet welding shop
• Miscellaneous storage buildings
• Western National Parks storage building
• Campgrounds and vault toilets
• Pulpit Rock vault toilet
• Amphitheater screen

Fire containment, what’s next for park

Officials said as of Wednesday morning the fire is 52% contained, and the north rim of the canyon is reopened to visitors.

Though the north rim side of the canyon is smaller than the fire-impacted south rim, visitors will have access to all north rim trails, overlooks and facilities, and a 13-site campground reopened on a first-come, first-served basis.

The South Rim and East Portal campgrounds are closed, and reservations are cancelled, according to the park’s website.

READ THE FULL ARTICLE AT KDVR FOX31