Single Publication

Little Mesa Fire Update

Monday, August 21, 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 may be 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: The fire saw no new growth yesterday. Firefighters made great progress in securing the fire edge, along with patrolling the area for threats to the fire line. With firefighter vigilance the fire held within the established containment areas throughout the day despite the windy hot conditions. Pockets of unburned vegetation deep in the fire’s interior actively burned and produced visible smoke. Lightning from previous days’ storms ignited many small fires in the region. Air resources and engines are being used to detect, locate, and contain these new starts.

Throughout the day firefighters will continue to patrol and extinguish heat along the fire perimeter. Smoke might continue to be seen as fire creeps into islands of unburned vegetation causing flare ups within the fire interior. 

Weather: An increase of precipitation is expected for western Colorado. Though gusty winds will be widespread across the region, critical fire weather conditions are not expected due to the higher relative humidities today. Isolated showers and thunderstorms are possible in the afternoon. Mostly sunny today with temperatures in the high 80s and south winds 12 to 20 mph with gusts to 30 mph in the afternoon. Shower and thunderstorm coverage increases Tuesday and through the end of the week as monsoonal moisture and remnants of Tropical Storm Hilary filter into the region.

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