The Bucktail Fire, which is raging across more than 28,000 acres in Montrose County, has nearly doubled in size since Wednesday, fire officials said Saturday.
On Saturday, the fire raged across 28,400 acres of private and state forest near Nucla, according to fire officials. Just three days earlier, the fire was almost half the size, at 1,600 acres.
The fire is raging through pinyon pine, juniper and scrub oak and has spread from private property to U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management lands in the Uncompahgre National Forest, a fire department map shows.
The Bucktail Fire broke out at 11:20 a.m. Aug. 1 about 6.5 miles northeast of Nucla on private land in the Bucktail watershed, fire officials said. Flames spread first onto BLM land and then into the national forest.
As of Saturday, the fire was still 10% contained, meaning crews are continuing to secure containment lines around the fire even as it continues to spread.
“It is important to note that containment does not mean a fire is out or that the danger is over,” said RedZone wildfire mapping officials. “While it is an indicator of progress, the level of containment does not always correlate with the level of safety around or within the fire.”
The cause of the fire is still being investigated, and according to the fire department, no evacuations have been ordered.
Several roads in the area remain closed, including 25 Mesa Road northwest of the fire and Houser Road and Cottonwood Trail to the south, fire officials said Saturday. All roads and trails within those boundaries also remain closed.
