Overview
- The fire began when high winds on the evening of Saturday, June 27, knocked a tree into a power line below Gold Mountain Ranch and the blaze quickly spread uphill in steep terrain.
- Ouray County issued mandatory evacuations for Panoramic Heights, the Lake Lenore area, Peck's Trailer Park and Red Stone Road and directed evacuees to Ridgway Secondary School for shelter.
- Officials placed Whispering Pines to Black Lake under a pre-evacuation notice and closed Highway 550 between Ouray and Whispering Pines with traffic rerouted via County Road 17, Oak Street and 7th Avenue.
- Governor Jared Polis declared a statewide emergency and activated the Colorado National Guard to bolster firefighting resources as the incident is set to escalate to a Type I response when more federal and state teams arrive.
- The Western Slope is under a Red Flag Warning through 10:00 PM, cell service is limited in some areas, and residents are told to follow the county website, the sheriff’s social pages or a dedicated hotline for instructions and life-safety updates.