Montrose Interagency Dispatch Area
Montrose - High Elevation
Wednesday, November 04
Today's Fire Danger is ModerateWhere Is This Area?
The Montrose - High Elevation Fire Danger Rating Area , spanning parts of Gunnison, Saguache, San Miguel, Hinsdale, Chaffee, Pitkin, Mesa, Delta, Ouray, Montrose, San Juan, Mineral, Dolores counties.
Communities in this area include: Gunnison, Telluride, Crested Butte, Ouray, Lake City, Mountain Village, Mount Crested Butte, Placerville. Rating areas are grouped by fire environment — elevation, fuels, and climate — not by town, so your community may sit in an area named for a different place.
Overview
Moderate fire danger today, driven by elevated midday ERC/BI readings before an incoming snow system drops danger to Low through the week.
- Trend: fire danger falls from Moderate to Low by Thursday and stays Low through November 10 as ERC drops from 53% to the mid-30s percentile.
- Weather driver: snow showers and patchy fog move through tonight, with highs near 48–49°F and light winds, per the NWS forecast for this area.
- Watchout status: 0 of 7 local thresholds met today; no Red Flag Warning or fire weather alerts are in effect for this area — only a Winter Weather Advisory nearby in Chaffee/Saguache counties.
- Restrictions: The Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre and Gunnison National Forests lifted their Stage 1 fire restrictions as of September 3, and Gunnison County is not currently under fire restrictions as of September 18; check local county pages for any winter updates.
- Nearby incidents: No active wildfires are reported in or near this area's counties in today's national situation report.
FEMS / NFDRS via BeWildfireAwareNational Weather Serviceweather.gov
NICC Incident Management Situation Reportnifc.gov
Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre and Gunnison National Forests end fire restrictionsdeltacountyindependent.com
Emergency Response Servicesemergency.gunnisoncounty.org
Pocket Card
Today's Conditions
0 of 7 local thresholds met today
Weather & Air Quality
Local Thresholds
ERC > 90%, BI > 90%, Wind Speed > 15 Max Temp > 86, Min Rh < 25, 1000hr Fuels < 12, Max RH < 55 If three or more of the seven thresholds are met, consider it a watchout.
High Elevation FDRA Extended Forecast
| Indicator | 4-Nov | 5-Nov | 6-Nov | 7-Nov | 8-Nov | 9-Nov | 10-Nov |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adjective Fire Danger Danger | Moderate | Low | Low | Low | Low | Low | Low |
| ERC-Y Percentile ERC % | 53% | 40% | 37% | 37% | 36% | 36% | 35% |
| BI-Y Percentile BI % | 58% | 36% | 36% | 36% | 36% | 36% | 36% |
| Temperature Temp | 44 | 43 | 42 | 41 | 46 | 47 | 46 |
| Relative Humidity Min RH | 42 | 43 | 46 | 41 | 36 | 35 | 40 |
| Winds Wind | 11 | 8 | 8 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 6 |
| Wind Direction Wind Dir | ENE | NE | NNE | NNE | N | NNE | NE |
| Precipitation 24hr rain Rain | 0.17 | 0.01 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| 1000hr Fuels 1000-hr Fuels | 18 | 19 | 19 | 19 | 19 | 19 | 20 |
| Max Rh Max RH | 85 | 88 | 79 | 74 | 59 | 57 | 63 |
| ERC-Y (Actual Number 1-66) ERC | 19.6 | 10 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 6 |
| BI-Y (Actual Number 1-52) BI | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Fires to Remember
| Fire | Discovery Date | ERC | BI | Temp | Rh | Winds | 1000-Hr | Fire Danger | Max Rh |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Low Line Fire | 7/26/2023 | 91% | 88% | 82 | 15 | 7 | 12 | Very High | 61 |
| Gold Mountain fire | 6/27/2026 | 94% | 100% | 73 | 12 | 22 | 11 | Very High | 73 |
| Elk Fire | 7/9/2026 | 97% | 97% | 77 | 16 | 15 | 11 | Extreme | 65 |
Local Fire Information
The High Elevation Fire Danger Rating Area uses the following Remote Automated Weather Stations (RAWS) which are equally weighted in value, using Fuel Model Y (Timber) incorporating data years 2005-2024 are: Huntsman (52813), Lujan (54702), Needle Creek (54704), Taylor Park (52812)
If you are interested in having this data emailed to you daily as a PDF, please email: 38north.llc@gmail.com