Home Care In Denver, CO

The Turner Gulch fire burning southwest of Grand Junction in western Colorado exploded overnight, more than quintupling in size and forcing new evacuations, according to fire officials.

The 8,140-acre wildfire is now the largest burning in Colorado, and more “extreme fire behavior” is expected Tuesday, fire officials said.

When it was last mapped Monday afternoon, it had only spread to 1,470 acres, according to the Upper Colorado River Interagency Fire Management Unit.

The Turner Gulch fire has not yet reached the size of the nearly 13,000-acre Deer Creek fire burning in eastern Utah, which crossed the Colorado border Monday night, according to Utah fire officials.

While it’s unclear how far the Deer Creek fire has spread into western Colorado, the four other wildfires in the area have already destroyed at least 14,651 acres, according to fire agencies.

An air quality advisory was issued Tuesday morning by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment for wildfire smoke.

The advisory will last through at least 9 a.m. Wednesday and covers Mesa, Delta, San Juan, Montrose, San Miguel, Ouray, Gunnison and Hinsdale counties.

“The best chance for smoke is expected in areas near and downwind of the fires,” the department’s Air Pollution Control Division stated. “Westerly to northwesterly winds are forecast for today. This means that locations east and southeast of the fires are likely to see the worst of it.”

Deer Creek fire near Paradox

Utah’s Deer Creek fire grew nearly 3,000 acres between Monday and Tuesday and slowly spread across the Colorado border, Utah fire officials said.

As of Tuesday morning, the fire was burning on 12,906 acres in eastern Utah and western Colorado and was 7% contained, according to fire officials. That’s a 2,848-acre increase from Monday morning’s size estimate.

It’s unknown how much the fire’s burned inside Colorado, but Utah fire officials said it crossed into the state near Paradox, just north of Colorado 90.

Thunderstorms and erratic winds forecast for the area Tuesday afternoon could increase fire activity, according to Utah Fire Info, a task force that partners with state and federal agencies.

South Rim fire near Montrose

The wildfire burning in and near Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park grew to nearly 4,000 acres Monday night, according to fire officials.

As of Monday, the South Rim fire had consumed 3,988 acres with no containment, according to federal officials.

The wildfire, burning about 15 miles northeast of Montrose, is one of four fires sparked by lightning during a Thursday storm and still burning.

Those fires and the Deer Creek fire together prompted Colorado Gov. Jared Polis to issue a verbal disaster declaration on Sunday.

South Rim fire officials are hosting a community meeting in Grace Community Church at 16731 Woodgate Road in Montrose. The meeting will start at 6 p.m. on Tuesday.

Turner Gulch fire and Wright Draw fire near Gateway

Two wildfires burning southwest of Grand Junction in Mesa County have destroyed nearly 8,500 acres, according to the Upper Colorado River Interagency Fire Management Unit.

The Turner Gulch fire ballooned overnight, spreading from 1,470 acres Monday afternoon to 8,140 acres Tuesday morning, according to fire officials.

The nearby Wright Draw fire, on the other side of Unaweep Canyon, grew from 249 acres Monday to 341 acres Tuesday, according to a morning update.

“Extreme drought conditions, steep terrain and hot and dry weather will continue to challenge firefighters on the Turner Gulch and Wright Draw fires,” officials stated in the update. “Yesterday, the Turner Gulch Fire pushed approximately eight miles to the east and remained very active through the night.”

Fire officials said “extreme fire behavior” is expected again Tuesday afternoon as the wind shifts direction. Dry thunderstorms in the area could add to those winds.

Rocky Mountain Complex Incident Management Team 1 assumed command of both fires Tuesday morning.

Colorado 141 is closed between mile marker 120 and mile marker 124 for the fire, officials said. The public is asked to avoid the area.

The area around Colorado 141 from mile marker 120 to mile marker 134 is under mandatory evacuation orders, Mesa County sheriff’s officials said. The following stretch between mile markers 134 and 137 remains under pre-evacuation orders.

Sowbelly fire near Delta

The wildfire burning in the Dominguez Canyon Wilderness Area on the edge of three western Colorado counties was still sitting at 2,274 acres Monday night, according to fire officials.

No containment has been made on the Sowbelly fire, which is burning in parts of Montrose, Delta and Mesa counties, fire officials said.

The Dominguez Canyon Wilderness Area is about 12 miles west of Delta.

More than 70 fire personnel remained in the field Monday evening to battle the flames, according to fire officials.

This is a developing story and will be updated.

Colorado’s Medicaid program will start paying for the behind-the-scenes work of treating people with mental health conditions and addictions in their primary care offices, which providers hope will lead to more patients getting the help they need.

The collaborative care model involves mental health professionals working in primary care clinics, with psychiatrists available to consult about patients’ needs, possibly via telehealth.

The federal government allows Medicaid to pay for the time the mental health professional spends assessing and tracking each patient’s progress, as well as consulting with the psychiatrist, but leaves it up to each state to decide whether its program will do so. Generally, insurance pays for treatment rendered to patients, but not the time spent coordinating it.

On July 1, Colorado became the 36th state to start allowing Medicaid to cover that supportive work, according to Path Forward, a nonprofit advocating for the collaborative care model. The Colorado Department of Health Care Policy and Financing estimated it will cost the state’s general fund about $368,000 in the first year, with about $1.1 million in federal matching funds.

The ability to bill Medicaid for that work will make it more sustainable for primary care practices to bring at least some mental health services in-house, said Dr. Shen Nagel, with Pediatrics West in Wheat Ridge. The practice employs one mental health professional, with grants helping to pay for her work coordinating care.

Typically, primary care providers had to give their patients a list of mental health professionals in the community and hope they followed through and found the care they needed, Nagel said. The on-staff professional at Pediatrics West can see patients with relatively routine needs now, but should be able to help those who need a bit more support once they move to the model where a psychiatrist acts as a consultant, he said.

The model won’t eliminate the need for referrals, but will allow some kids to get their mental health care in a place where they already feel comfortable, Nagel said.

“We could probably fill the schedules of five to six behavioral health providers, easily,” he said.

The collaborative care model hasn’t penetrated deeply in Colorado. About 500 people received care under the model paid for by commercial insurance in 2023, and 700 received it through Medicare in 2022, which was the most recent year with data, according to a report by the consulting company Milliman.

Nationwide, about 125,000 people received collaborative care paid for by private insurance, and about 73,000 had it covered by Medicare or Medicaid. The two groups could overlap somewhat if people moved between insurance types.

Generally, studies found that patients with depression who received collaborative care were more likely to report improved symptoms than those who only received typical primary care. One exception found similar levels of improvement in both groups, perhaps reflecting differences in what their primary care providers could offer.

Clinics reported widely varying rates of improvement, with some saying about one-third of their patients saw lessening of their depression symptoms, while a location in Texas reported four out of five patients’ depression got at least partially better.

The mental health provider community was watching closely to see whether the state would allow Medicaid billing for coordination, since it faces a significant budget gap next year, said Dr. K. Ron-Li Liaw, who has been chief of mental health at Children’s Hospital Colorado since 2022.

Most providers using the collaborative care model work with adult patients, but Colorado has an opportunity to show that it can benefit the roughly 20% of pediatric patients who have behavioral health needs, she said. A psychiatrist at Children’s will work with six practices, including Pediatrics West, to figure out how to make the model work for kids.

“We’ve been waiting in Colorado for this day as long as I’ve been here,” she said.

DENVER — Firefighters are battling at least four separate wildfires on Colorado’s Western Slope that have ravaged thousands of acres and closed a national park amid dry conditions.

More than 6,000 acres are burning in four separate wildfires — at least three of which were sparked by lightning on Thursday — in Delta, Mesa and Montrose counties.

Gov. Jared Polis verbally declared a disaster declaration for the fires on Sunday, which frees up state and federal resources.

South Rim Fire

The South Rim Fire, burning inside Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park, has expanded to more than 3,500 acres and remains 0% contained.

It was sparked by lightning and first reported on Thursday morning.

The South Rim Fire has led to evacuations of Black Canyon National Park and nearby areas, including Bostwick Park. No injuries have been reported, and no structures have been lost.

Helicopters are providing water buckets, and airtankers are used as needed to secure infrastructure, park officials said.

Aircraft filling from Blue Mesa Reservoir has forced the closure of the reservoir to both motorized and non-motorized boats west of Middle Bridge.

Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park, located primarily in Montrose County, is situated nine miles east of the city of Montrose.

Sowbelly Fire

The 2,251-acre Sowbelly Fire is burning in the Dominguez Canyon Wilderness Area in Delta and Mesa counties.

The lightning-caused fire is 0% contained and was first reported Thursday evening.

There are currently no evacuations in place, and no structures have been reported lost.

Wright Draw Fire

The 160-acre Wright Draw Fire is burning off Highway 141, northeast of the town of Gateway in Mesa County.

Evacuations are in place on land along Hwy 141, between mile markers 120-124. An evacuation center has been set up at the Clifton Community Center.

The cause of the fire is still unknown.

No injuries have been reported, and no structures have been lost.

Turner Gulch Fire

The 512-acre Turner Gulch Fire is burning off Highway 141, northeast of the town of Gateway in Mesa County.

The lightning-caused fire was first reported Thursday and remains at 0% containment.

No injuries have been reported, and no structures have been lost.

Evacuations are in place on land along Hwy 141, between mile markers 120-124. An evacuation center has been set up at the Clifton Community Center.

More than 7,600 acres of Colorado’s Western Slope have been burned by four lightning-sparked wildfires, according to fire officials.

Gov. Jared Polis issued a disaster declaration Sunday for the ongoing wildfires, as well as another large fire burning on the edge of Utah that could spread into Colorado.

The four currently burning in western Colorado were all sparked by lightning during the same Thursday storm and have continued to grow, Polis said in the disaster declaration.

State resources will join hundreds of firefighters already on the ground in three western Colorado counties to fight the wildfires.

South Rim fire in Montrose County

Heavy winds that swept through Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park on Sunday night started “rapid fire spread” after a relatively slow day of growth, according to fire officials.

The South Rim fire reached 3,633 acres Sunday night, a jump of only 77 acres from Saturday’s estimate of 3,556 acres, Incident Commander Nate Christiansen said in a video briefing.

That was mapped before the winds picked up, and it’s unknown how much the fire grew during the “rapid fire spread.”

“By early evening, a thunderstorm with gusty winds passed over the fire, causing it to become extremely active and unpredictable,” fire officials wrote in a Monday update. “Heavy smoke limited visibility … There was significant growth to the west.”

Christiansen said the fire was “waking up” along the burn area’s southern edge and progressing toward Bostwick Park, a Montrose County community that remains under mandatory evacuation orders.

“Tough conditions these firefighters (are) up against: Drought (and) above average temperatures really have dried up these fuels. We’re seeing some pretty good fire behavior,” Nick Ostrom, a fire behavior analyst, said in a video update posted Monday afternoon.

The South Rim entrance to Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park is about 15 miles east of Montrose.

The South Rim fire evacuation zone is bordered to the west by Lateral Ditch Road, the north by Black Canyon, the south by U.S. 50 and the east by East Portal, according to a federal evacuation map. That includes M73, N73, N74 and O74 roads.

As of Monday afternoon, more than 300 fire personnel, two aircraft and two dozers were battling the flames. The fire had no containment.

Blue Mesa Reservoir west of the Middle Bridge is closed to all boating activities so aircraft can safely pick up water to dump on the fire, according to Curecanti National Recreation Area officials.

The Rocky Mountain Complex Incident Management Team 3 took command of the fire Monday morning.

Wright Draw fire and Turner Gulch fire in Mesa County

The two wildfires on mountainous terrain in Mesa County have destroyed more than 1,700 acres, according to the Upper Colorado River Interagency Fire Management Unit.

More than 200 firefighters are battling the 1,470-acre Turner Gulch fire and the 249-acre Wright Draw fire, both burning southwest of Grand Junction, officials said in a Monday afternoon update.

More resources are expected to arrive in the coming days, fire officials said.

The Rocky Mountain Complex Incident Management Team 1 will take command of both Mesa County fires Tuesday morning at 6 a.m.

Homes along Colorado 141 between mile markers 120 and 131 are under mandatory evacuation orders, according to the Upper Colorado River Interagency Fire Management Unit and the Mesa County Sheriff’s Office.

By 6 p.m. Monday, a pre-evacuation notice was issued for homes between mile markers 131 and 137 outside of Gateway, according to the sheriff’s office.

Mesa County Sheriff’s officials are also asking the public not to use Colorado 141 except to leave under evacuation or pre-evacuation notices to keep it clear for firefighting crews. The roadway is closed for half a mile in each direction from mile point 124 because of fire activity.

Sowbelly fire in Montrose, Delta and Mesa counties

The Sowbelly fire on the edge of three western Colorado counties has burned more than 2,200 acres with no containment, according to the Bureau of Land Management.

As of Monday morning, the fire had burned 2,274 acres in the Dominguez Canyon Wilderness Area, including land in Montrose, Delta and Mesa counties.

The wilderness area is about 12 miles west of Delta.

Afternoon wind gusts, low humidity and hot temperatures remain concerning for fire activity, fire officials said Monday.

As of Monday, the greatest fire activity was on the southwest and northeast edges of the burn area.

Deer Creek fire in Utah, Montrose County

A more than 11,000-acre fire burning in eastern Utah could cross the state border and spread into Montrose County.

The Deer Creek fire grew more than 1,000 acres Sunday, spreading from roughly 8,925 acres to 10,058 acres, according to a Monday morning update from Utah fire officials. By Monday evening, it had grown to 11,044 acres burned.

Fire officials said the fire has not yet spread into Colorado, but Utah residents living in areas up to the state border are under mandatory evacuation orders.

As of noon Monday, crews were battling the fire and digging containment lines along the Colorado-Utah border, according to a briefing from fire officials.

The fire was included in Gov. Polis’s disaster declaration on Sunday.

Paradox is the closest Colorado town to the Utah fire, which is about 30 miles west of Nucla and 10 miles east of the state border.

This is a developing story and will be updated.

Denver Post reporter Seth Klamann contributed to this report.

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DENVER — New vaccine requirements will take effect Tuesday for Colorado shelters, groomers and boarders, nearly one year after a rabies outbreak involving a rescue.

The 2024 rabies exposure was from a litter of puppies brought in from Texas by Moms & Mutts Colorado Rescue (MAMCO).

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The incubation period for rabies can be weeks. It wasn't until the puppies had already been adopted that they started showing symptoms.

The infections were reported to the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE), and 11 puppies were euthanized.

In response, rulemakers with the Pet Animal Care and Facilities Act Program (PACFA), the licensing and enforcement program for animal care facilities under the state's Department of Agriculture, have been working on new pet vaccine requirements. After several hearings and public comment sessions, the new rules take effect on Tuesday.

As it relates to out-of-state pet rescues, all dogs, cats and ferrets must have a rabies vaccine before being imported into Colorado. Puppies older than 6 weeks must have parvovirus and distemper vaccinations two weeks before being brought to the state.

Some exemptions apply for pets that are too young to be vaccinated for rabies.

If a facility has had no disciplinary matters pending, has had its PACFA license for at least two years, and has created a Disease Control and Treatment Plan, it can apply for an exemption. At that point, all dogs and cats need to be held at the facility or a foster home for three days before being adopted out.

There are also new vaccination changes that impact local doggy daycares, boarding facilities and groomers. All of those facilities now need to have a record of current vaccines for:

Dogs and cats can be exempted from the rule if owners have a statement from a licensed veterinarian that explains that the vaccine would endanger the pet's life. Even then, the exempted dog cannot commingle with other dogs.