Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Elk Hunting Fire in SE corner of Flat Tops,CO

Notice of fire and closure on south east end of Flat Tops. Anyone contemplating hunting off Coffee Pot Road, it is now part of a closed area because of the Grizzly Creek Fire burning along and north of I-70. I-70 is now closed from Gypsum to Glenwood Springs.Since Dotsero is west of Gypsum, you can't get there to turn north along the Colorado River Because of the rugged terrain, this fire will be burning for quite awhile. Zero containment at present.

More info: Grizzle Creek Fire, CO, on Facebook

Was planning a scouting trip to Clinetop Meas this weekend. Not looking good

My first elk hunt was in the Flat Tops. Nice area

https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/photographs/6942/

Saddlesore and Campfire members: Some photos of the Grizzly Creek Fire in above link 4,624 acres burning !

https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/6942/

Grizzly Creek Fire incident overview above.

HH

Also we have the Pine Gulch wildfire 58,836 acres burning 7 % contained 18 miles north of Grand Junction

https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/6906/

HH

https://www.outtherecolorado.com/ne...qRUkf1v67_MOOXDQfG9YhB3zzgyth4yPrDA7OWTw

Some more info on the grizzly wildfire which is now 6,250 acres burning. HH 8/13/20

Was looking at some live imagery yesterday afternoon over the area we hunt in the Fat Tops and saw the smoke. That's too bad, it will likely burn for quite awhile.

https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/6942/

*** newest update on grizzly creek wildfire 8/14/20 14,663 acres burned see web link above for full disclosure. HH

Use this web link to find fires in all states ... .https://www.nifc.gov/fireInfo/nfn.htm

Colorado is included in this listing, just know the name of the wildfire. HH

I imagine that fire is going to keep burning north.There are only a few access roads, so heavy equipment will have to be brought in to make some . Both Coffee Pot and Sweetwater roads have evacuation notices.

There was big fire in the Deby Mesa and south of W mountain areas back in 76 and it burned until snow came.

Weather.com says the high pressure system that we are under now should start moving east and monsoons may start in a few weeks.That many help.

I know the coffee pot area well. It was my hunting/stomping grounds for many years. It's sage brush for many miles up that road from I70. Hopefully they can bulldoze a line once it flattens out and before the aspens start. The Derby Mesa area offered great grass and regrowth that often held deer and elk.

I hunted the Big Springs, W Mountain,Little Sugar Loaf for a lot of years in the 70's early 80's then switched over to going in from Sweetwater to Shingle/Turret Peak country.Then that got over crowded too and I started to hunt Gunnison country on and off from about 95 on.

https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/photographs/6942/

More Photos of the grizzly Creek wildfire ...click link above 25,690 acres burning

https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/6942/ Incident overview

Incident overview information and map... see link above. 4 larger fires burning in Colo ... bad summer for wildfires folks. Praying for the safety of home owners and firefighters, and in a few months, hope the elk hunters still have a place to hunt
That map can be enlarged of the burned area for a better visual of the area affected.
HH

Hate to hear that. My first elk hunt was in that area in 1988 and I killed my best bull there. Prayers up for the homeowners and firefighters.

Any idea which game management unit this is in?

Area is closed right now. Anything west of the Eagle/Garfiield County line, over to Glenwood Spirngs. South end is I-70 and north end is the south boundary of the Flat Tops Wilderness and a little bit south of I-70 along the Canyon

Generally, 34,35,25,, some of 24.

Search around on Google and you cnan find closed maps of areas of BLM and NF for the Grizzle Creek Fire

Another fire NW of Grand Junction is 80,000 acreas + and one east of Rt 9 between Dillon and Kremmling of a few thousand acres

Cameron Peak fire in 7,8,9,191 is also very bad.
Unless we get snow and or rain soon it;s going to affect hunting.

Thanks saddlsore , think that is aways from where I was planning on going. Guessing its about 30 miles south of where I plan on going.

https://www.nifc.gov/fireInfo/nfn.htm

Campfire members... the above link will give you a listing of all the big wildfires in most of the western states, just scroll down to your state of interest, then click on the name of the fire. Sorry we are having such a bad wildfire summer.... pray for the safety of wildland firefighters and homeowners . HH

And some of unit 44

Sweetwater road and area is now closed

Just got word that a ranch cabin that we used to hunt out of north of Fruita burned in the fire. 😔

24 Hour campfire: a update listing of the 4 major wildfires burning in Colo

Grizzly Creek 29,992 acres 11% contained

Pine Gulch 124,934 acres 17% contained

Cameron Peak 16,602 acres zero contained

Williams Fork 10,288 3% contained

Pray for rain or an early snowfall. Earliest I have seen snow in Colo was a day or so after Labor day

Use this link for additional info https://www.nifc.gov/fireInfo/nfn.htm Scroll down to Colorado. HH

I’ve seen snow in every month of the year at 10,000’ and above.

The fire can be seen at night just north of Fruita on the Bookcliffs.
Roads north of Fruita are closed as is SH139 over Douglas Pass.
The bombers havent been flying much (if at all) out of GJT this week
The past few days ya cant even see Bean Man's part of the valley from central GJT.
Ashes on the sidewalk look like a skiff of snow in the morning.
Swamp coolers plugged up with ash. Had to take the pads off today and hose them and everything else off.
A f ucking bear wound up in GJT trying to get away from all that chit.

Forget about hunting any of the burn areas.

Yup, it stinks. I spent an hour today cleaning swamp cooler pads and flushing it out. We’re going to load the camper up and go north until we’re out of the smoke.

Anyone been up Coffee Pot Road or up on Clinetop Mesa recently?

Coffee Pot road is closed as well as Sweetwater road. You won't be getting into any of that country anytime soon.

https://www.fs.usda.gov/alerts/whiteriver/alerts-notices/?aid=60765

https://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/fseprd785167.pdf

Scroll down to about the 3rd page for the map

Anyone know about the BLM lands lower down? Separate agency so no way to know how they coordinate closings. I am sure there is a lot of unhospitable land there right now

Go to this web site .

https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/6942/

Scroll down to the small map and click on Full Size.There you can see BLM land in yellow FS in Green

https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/photographs/6964/0/

The newest big fire in Colorado... Cameron Peak fire... 59,051 acres burned... 4 % contained. It has now entered the northern portion of the RMNP. The above link will show 3 pages of maps and photos of the fire. Information, Annoucments, and Closure are also there. Hope the moisture from snowfall Tuesday will help. Younews2 on Youtube.com has a 3.43 minute video at 40,000 acres burned. HH

Cameron is 96,000 acres now, blew the hell up today!

If that fire gets a strangle hold on the Park there is no stopping it with all that fuel to burn. Just south of Jackson county in Grand County where the Williams Fork fire is was the epicenter of the beetle kill in Colorado. Hope they get a ton of snow soon!

102,596 acres burned now !!!! Still only 4% contained ! Thank you Alaska Cub for the update earlier. Hope the snowfall is helping slow the fire. HH

Brother went up coffee pot. last week. Heavy traffic and lots of fire camps. Considering dunkley

Any thoughts?

Lots of guys up dunkley last week. Watch the roads they are all washboard from all the cattle trailers up there.

It was smokey and snowy up there too last week. But the snow has melted off since.

Hunted unit 13 south of Craig last week. Incredibly dry there. Hope you get some significant precipitation soon!

I see the closed area is now only the burnt part. How many fire camps left, and road conditions?

Lets make a deal. E everyone go elsewhere and I will report on how first rifle goes uo there.