Two homes have been destroyed in a wildfire burning near a residential area of Buena Vista.
The fire was reported in the area of Mountain View Estates/Morrison Creek subdivision shortly after 1 p.m. Thursday. Mandatory evacuations were then issued for the area.
Friday, July 11, 12:00 p.m. Update
The Chaffee County Government says that a wildfire burning in the Mountain View Estates area north of Buena Vista is now 100% contained.
Evacuation orders and pre-evacuation orders were still in effect as of this update, but the county expected more information about re-entry considerations later Friday.
Fire investigators are on scene currently working to determine the origin and cause of the fire. Crews remain on scene to work hotspots.
Friday, July 11, 7:30 a.m. Updates
The Mountain View fire is now considered 50% contained. The Chaffee County Government says that there was no spread overnight, and the fire still sits at 60 acres.
Evacuation orders and pre-evacuation orders for the 5-mile radius around the Mountain View Estates are still in effect. Crews believe the weather will be favorable for crews to continue to work on containment.
Thursday, July 10, 2025
Pre-evacuation notices were in place for the surrounding five miles, according to the Chaffee County Sheriff’s Office.
All evacuees were advised to head to the Chaffee County Public Safety Complex, located at 200 Steele Drive in Buena Vista.
The fire was estimated to be approximately 20 acres in size as of 2 p.m. As of 8:55 p.m., the fire is roughly 60 acres and has destroyed two homes, according to the Mountain View Fire Department. Fifty homes are within the evacuation zone, with 25 of those being in the "hot" zone.
Mountain View Fire crews have made a "great initial attack on the fire with aircraft," according to the department. Personnel from Chaffee County Fire Protection District, Salida Fire Department, the Colorado Division of Fire Prevention and Control, as well as state and federal resources, are helping in the firefight.
Officials do not believe that the fire has entered public lands, and there is "no concern" about having to evacuate livestock in the area.
Chaffee County government officials also said they would intentionally shut off power lines in the area as a safety precaution. It was not immediately clear when power would be restored to residents in the area.
Thursday was declared a “no-burn” day in unincorporated Chaffee County “due to unfavorable fire weather conditions.”
During a no-burn day, it’s unlawful for anyone to build, maintain, attend or use an open fire (such as campfires, warming fires, charcoal fires, any type of charcoal-fueled broilers or bar-b-que grills, fires in wood-burning stoves, and the prescribed burning of fence lines or rows, ditches, fields, farmlands, rangelands, wildlands, slash piles, trash, and debris), conduct sales of fireworks, or engage in outdoor smoking, “even if such would otherwise constitute an exempt fire,” deputies with the sheriff’s office said.
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