Elk Fire Update – 7/30/2026

Fire Update – Elk Fire
Thursday, July 30, 2026 – 8:00 a.m.
Rocky Mountain Complex Incident Management Team 1
Justin Conrad, Incident Commander
Information Phone: 970-299-5357
Email: 2026.elk@firenet.gov
Information Staffing Hours: 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Current Situation:
Firefighters continue improving established containment lines Division A, while also conducting suppression repair operations across the division. This work includes chipping and mastication of wood debris and installation of waterbars for erosion mitigation.

In Division X, crews are coordinating helicopter operations to retrieve equipment placed during initial suppression efforts. With containment lines now established in this area, helicopters are expected to pick up and remove the equipment as conditions allow.

Because fire managers are utilizing County Road 20 west of Lake City as an indirect containment line and suppression repair is not needed here, the southern piece of the fire area is unstaffed.
Water handling equipment installed on the east side of the fire in the communities along Highway 149 will remain in place. Firefighters are still available to respond to any new fire starts as needed.

Weather and Fire Behavior: Significant precipitation over the area have limited fire growth. Interior pockets of heat in the southwest portion of the fire area may still show visible smoke but are not a threat to containment lines.
Evacuations: Current evacuation information is available for Hinsdale County at hinsdalecounty.colorado.gov.
Closures: The Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre, and Gunnison (GMUG) National Forests closure information is available at fs.usda.gov/r02/gmug/alerts. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Uncompahgre Field Office closures can be found at blm.gov/programs/public-safety-and-fire/fire-and-aviation/regional-information/colorado/southwest-district.

No Fly Zone: A Temporary Flight Restriction (TFR) over the Gold Mountain and Elk Fire areas is in effect. Flying drones near the fire is prohibited and can interfere with firefighting aircraft, potentially grounding aerial suppression operations. For more information on flight restrictions, visit knowbeforeyoufly.org.

Fire Statistics:
Size: 2,317 acres
Containment: 37%
Total Personnel: 91
Location: 7 Miles NW of Lake City, CO
Reported: July 9, 2026
Cause: Lightning

For More Information:
Information Phone: 970-299-5357
Email: 2026.elk@firenet.gov
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/2026elkfire
InciWeb: https://inciweb.wildfire.gov/cogmf-elk-fire
LinkTree: https://linktr.ee/2026ElkPublic
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