Colorado wildfires: Fire sparks in western Colorado, forces evacuations

Lauren Penington, The Denver Post on Aug 3, 2025

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A wildfire burning near Carbondale in Garfield County forced evacuations across the community on Sunday, according to fire officials.

The Ranch at Coulter Creek fire sparked near a subdivision with the same name Sunday morning, north of Panorama Drive, according to an 11:24 a.m. post from the Carbondale & Rural Fire Protection District.

As of Sunday afternoon, the Panorama subdivision and areas east of County Road 100 to Upper Cattle Creek Road were under mandatory evacuation orders, according to the Garfield County Sheriff’s Office.

“EVACUATE the area IMMEDIATELY,” sheriff’s officials wrote on social media.

The fire had burned between 35 and 40 acres by 1 p.m., Carbondale fire officials said.

The burn area had doubled by 2:30 p.m., when officials said the fire had consumed an estimated 80 acres.

Evacuees should report to the Roaring Fork High School at 2270 Colorado 133 in Carbondale, sheriff’s officials said.

The new wildfire is burning east of the three other major fires still active on Colorado’s Western Slope.

The Wright Draw, Turner Gulch and South Rim fires have collectively burned roughly 26,381 acres. The Sowbelly fire, which was fully contained on Friday, consumed another 2,274 acres in western Colorado.

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