Colorado wildfires: Fire evacuates residents near Ouray in western Colorado

Lauren Penington, The Denver Post on Jun 28, 2026

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Just north of Ouray, roughly 130 miles from where the 28,000-acre Snyder Mesa fire was burning near the Colorado-Utah border, firefighters battled another blaze that forced evacuations on Saturday.

The Gold Mountain fire sparked Saturday evening on U.S. Forest Service land near Ouray, quickly consuming a rocky cliffside, according to a news release from Ouray County. As of Sunday morning, the cause of the fire remained under investigation.

Ouray County declared a state of emergency for the wildfire on Saturday, and crews from both the Colorado Department of Fire Prevention and Control and the Bureau of Land Management responded. Additional state and federal resources were expected to arrive on Sunday, including both ground crews and air support, county officials said in the release.

Mandatory evacuation orders remain in effect for residents near Lake Lenore, Panoramic Heights, Redstone Road and Peck’s Trailer Park, county officials said. The county also issued pre-evacuation notices for residents living on Ouray County Road 17 from the Whispering Pines area to the Black Lake area. As of Sunday morning, evacuations had not been ordered for the city of Ouray.

Evacuated residents can seek shelter at the Ridgway Secondary School, 1200 Green Street, according to county officials.

U.S. 550 was closed in both directions on Sunday between Ouray and Whispering Pines because of the fire, according to the Colorado Department of Transportation.

“Extremely steep and rugged terrain” makes fighting the fire difficult, county officials said. A size estimate was not available on Sunday morning, but the flames were expected to spread amid high winds and dry weather.

Ouray, along with most of southwestern Colorado and southeastern Utah, will be under a “particularly dangerous situation” red flag warning on Sunday afternoon, with up to 55 mph winds and humidity as low as 5% in the forecast, according to the National Weather Service’s Grand Junction office. The warning will be in effect from noon to 10 p.m. Sunday.

“Rapid wildfire growth will be likely,” forecasters said.

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