Single Publication

Little Mesa Fire Update

Saturday, August 19, 2023

Location: Approx. 15 miles west, southwest of Delta, CO, Dominguez Escalante National Conservation Area     

Discovered: July 31, 2023, 11:00 AM                           

Cause: Lightning                    

Estimated Size: 3,896 acres                                         

Vegetation Type: Pinyon, Juniper, sagebrush, grass

Containment: 30%                                                      

Total Personnel:  35                           

NOTICE TO THE PUBLIC: Air operations maybe conducted on the Little Mesa Fire. For your safety, please stay out of the Potholes Recreation Area. The helicopters are using this water source for fire suppression.

Current Situation: Type 4 Incident Command took over the fire yesterday morning. Fire behavior was minimal after receiving precipitation earlier in the day with no growth, but due to better mapping the map shows an increase in acreage. The Wildland Fire Module flew their Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) with infrared camera to detect heat along the southwest perimeter. Fire crews prepped for potential future burning from the southwest edge of the fire off Dry Mesa Road to Black Point Road. The excavator continued to perform cleanup operations, adding large vegetative material to reclose roads temporarily opened as containment lines and dispersing pockets of dead and down vegetation.

Fire behavior is expected to be reduced due to precipitation received overnight. Today, firefighters will patrol the fire perimeter, eliminating any heat along the edge and moving smoldering logs further into the interior. On the southwest end, firefighters will continue their prep work from Dry Mesa Road to Black Point Road. If weather conditions are conducive, firefighters may look at conducting hand ignitions along the prepped line. The excavator will complete road repair and cleanup work, as well as dig holes for fence posts.

Weather: Last night, deep tropical moisture was firmly in place around portions of western Colorado with widespread storm activity. Storms tracked on the fringes of the fire area producing abundant lightning with minimal to no precipitation. Drier air will begin to move in from the southeast today through Sunday, but widely scattered storm formation is still possible, with an increase in threat of gusty outflow winds. Winds will be from the south 7 to 12 mph, with temperatures in the mid-80s.

Evacuations and Closures: No evacuations have been issued. Temporary road closures are in place in Delta County on Dry Mesa Rd at the intersection with Escalante Rim Rd and on USFS Dry Mesa Rd at Sawmill Mesa Rd junction. The GMUG National Forests have issued a forest closure order for the area around the Little Mesa Fire. Public access to the closure area is limited. Visit https://bit.ly/3YwXNz0 for more information.

Smoke:  Smoke is visible from surrounding areas and highways 50, 550, 92, 65, 141 and C37 Road. Go to fire.airnow.gov or colorado.gov/airquality/ to get updates on smoke conditions.

Aviation Safety:  Incident aircraft may be flying over the Little Mesa Fire air space. Fire aviation resources are flying at different altitudes and speeds. Unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) or drones must never fly near wildfires. Remember if you fly, we can’t!

For updated information follow on these outlets:

Inciweb:  https://inciweb.wildfire.gov/incident-information/coupd-little-mesa-fire

Facebook: @LittleMesaFire                 Twitter: @SWD_Fire