Fire crews battling blaze near Palisade

GRAND JUNCTION— Crews arrived on scene late last night to attack what is being called the Blowout Fire located south of the Town of Palisade and near Horse Mountain, which lies at the base of the western end of the Grand Mesa. The Mesa County Fire Team, Palisade Volunteer Fire Department and Upper Colorado River Fire Management Unit personnel are battling what is currently estimated to be a 300-acre wildfire. Two engine crews are tackling the blaze, and fire fighting resources on order include additional engine crews, hand crews and air support.

“We’re not expecting the winds we had yesterday, but the relative humidity is very low, so it’s kind of a good news, bad news scenario,” Incident Commander Clay Fowler said.

There are homes in the area, but none are known to be in imminent danger at this time. The fire is burning in rough terrain on Bureau of Land Management public lands in pinyon-juniper, sagebrush and fine fuels, such as cheat grass. The cause of the fire is currently under investigation.

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