The Bucktail fire burning on more than 7,200 acres in Montrose County has nearly doubled in size since Wednesday, fire officials said Saturday.
On Saturday, the fire was burning on 7,202 acres of private and national forest land near Nucla, according to fire officials. Just three days earlier, the fire was almost half the size at 3,788 acres.
The fire is burning in pinyon pine, juniper and brush oak and spread from private property to U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management land in Uncompahgre National Forest, according to a map from fire officials.
The Bucktail fire sparked around 11:20 a.m. on Aug. 1, about 6.5 miles northeast of Nucla on private land in the Bucktail drainage, fire officials said. Flames first spread to BLM land and then into the national forest.
As of Saturday, the fire was still 10% contained, meaning crews have continued to secure containment lines around the fire’s perimeter even as it keeps spreading.
“It’s important to note that containment does not mean a fire is out, or that the danger has passed,” according to RedZone wildfire mapping officials. “Although it is an indicator of progress, the containment percentage doesn’t always correlate to safety level around or within the fire.”
The cause of the fire remains under investigation and no evacuations have been ordered, according to fire officials.
Multiple roads in the area remain closed, including 25 Mesa Road to the 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.