This is a developing news story, and Aspen Public Radio will provide updates as they become available.
Update as of 10:25 p.m. on 6/28/26
Firefighting crews reached 100% containment Friday afternoon. Mop-up operations continued into Saturday, and all evacuation and preparedness orders were lifted on Sunday.
Update as of 10:00 p.m. 6/25/26:
Officials announced that they had reached 90% containment of the fire by Thursday evening.
Some evacuations in Grass Mesa were lifted earlier in the day, but others in the Gage Road area remain in place. Up-to-date evacuation maps can be found on the Garfield County website.
Update as of 5:24 p.m. on 6/24/26:
Firefighters have made “good progress” today securing the eastern perimeter of the fire, according to a Colorado River Fire Rescue social media post.
As of 4:48 p.m. Wednesday, the fire was 35% contained, according to the National Interagency Fire Center.
Crews have also constructed barriers and set up hoses on the western perimeter. Their focus is extinguishing interior hot spots.
Evacuations remain in place for the area around the Dry Creek Fire, in the Gage Road area. Find updated evacuation maps here.
Communities throughout the Roaring Fork and Colorado River valleys are seeing smoke-driven air quality alerts. But most of the smoke seen throughout the region is actually coming from fires in Utah, according to National Weather Service forecaster Gillian Felton, based in Grand Junction.
Pitkin and Eagle counties issued air quality health advisories Wednesday. Federal air quality reports showed air quality was unhealthy for sensitive groups in Aspen, Basalt and Carbondale Wednesday afternoon.
Further downvalley in Rifle and Glenwood Springs, the air quality was moderate.
Felton said the National Weather Service’s forecast models project the smoke will linger in the area “at least over the next few days, if not longer.”
She added that the smoke could come in waves or periodically get worse. But rain forecasted for Wednesday evening could help with the smoke.
Update as of 9:10 a.m. on 6/24/26:
Colorado River Fire Rescue reported Wednesday morning that the Dry Creek Fire has grown to 315 acres, up from 288 acres on late Tuesday night.
Evacuation orders remain in effect for Grass Mesa Road north of Gage Road, Sunset Land and Gage Road north of mile marker 1. Pre-evacuations are in effect for Grass Mesa south of Rodeo Drive and Coyote Trail. Evacuated residents can seek shelter at the Garfield County Fairgrounds.
One residence and one outbuilding have been confirmed lost, and the cause of the fire remains under investigation.
Extreme fire conditions persist, and fire crews expect forecasted winds to test existing fire lines.
A Type 3 incident management team with the Upper Colorado River Interagency Fire Management Unit took over fire management at 7 a.m. Wednesday morning.
Fire personnel are working closely with Xcel Energy to inspect power lines and infrastructure so that power can be safely restored to customers who have lost power during the fire.
Garfield County is moving into Stage II Burn Restrictions on Friday, June 25.
ORIGINAL STORY:
A fire in the 800 block of Gage Road in Rifle is forcing homes and businesses in the area to evacuate.
Residents north of Mile Marker 1 on Gage Road, north of Gage Road on Grass Mesa Road and on Sunset Lane need to evacuate now, emergency officials stated as of 3:45 p.m. Tuesday.
Evacuated residents can go to the Garfield County Fairgrounds.
A pre-evacuation notice is also in place for Grass Mesa south of Rodeo Drive and Coyote Trail. Garfield County will continue to send push notifications and update on its website with evacuation orders.
These orders will be in place overnight, according to the Colorado River Fire District.
As of 5:34 p.m., the fire was estimated to be about 288 acres, and had jumped County Road 319.
Fire officials report a high rate of spread due to heavy fuels in the area. In addition to threatening multiple structures in the area, it’s also threatening gas infrastructure, according to Colorado River Fire Rescue’s social media.
Two helicopters, two single engine air tankers, and two large air tankers have been requested for an air attack, as well as one large air tanker and two hand crews.