GLADE PARK, Colo. (KREX) — A lightning strike in a dry storm sparked the King's Canyon Fire in Glade Park near the Utah border on Sunday. As of Monday afternoon, the fire is 0% contained at just over 200 acres.
Multiple engines from Glade Park, Mesa County and BLM are all working to tackle this problem, though the steep canyons and limited rough roads makes it hard to get to the front line.
Community Outreach Specialist Ellis Thompson tells WesternSlopeNow the Grand Junction Fire Department worries about both a wildfire approaching homes and a house fire turning into a wildfire, especially with some of their resources already expended across the country.
Within the last week, a fire along the interstate from a truck being towed blew a tire. And just the other week, another fire erupted at a state park.
Fire Management Specialist for the Upper Colorado River District Mike Jones tells WesternSlopeNow no smokejumpers are involved with the King's Canyon Fire at the moment, but rather a heavy air tanker, type 3 helicopter, multi-mission aircraft and air attack plane.
Four other planes on standby were called out to a fire near Fort Collins in Alexander Mountain, loaded with retardant.
Just Sunday alone, 50,000 gallons of retardant from the Grand Junction base was used across multiple fires. Jones says there have been 97 fires already this year just between the Utah border and the Eisenhower Tunnel.
Grand Junction locals tell WesternSlopeNow it's all too easy to notice the landscape burning around us, making it hard for some to breathe.