Willow Fire Active 2026

Willow Fire Update, 6/29/2026 11:00am

Location: Approximately 2 miles NW of the Leadville Fish Hatchery

Size: 1200

Containment: 0%

Personnel: 70

Closures and evacuations: https://arcg.is/0KuSC40

Cause: Under Investigation

The Willow Fire, located approximately 2 miles NW of the Leadville Fish Hatchery, started on 06/28/2026 and quickly grew to 1066 acres by late Sunday. The fire was very active yesterday with torching, group crown runs and long range spotting when topography and winds aligned. The fire is burning is a remote area of San Isabel National Forest south of Turquoise Lake in steep and rugged terrain. Yesterday, due to the extreme fire behavior, location and terrain, firefighting efforts were mostly utilizing air resources while firefighters attempted to access to the fire. Overnight the fire saw some fire growth and is now estimated to be 1200. 

Today crews will continue to scout the fire area in order to safely gain access to the fire. There is one helicopter assigned to the fire this morning with more on order and crews will utilize the aircraft for reconnaissance as well as buck drops as winds allow. Firefighters are facing another day of high temperatures, low humidities and high winds which will contribute to fire growth. The video below is from a reconnaissance flight this morning showing active fire behavior and some of the area that was burned yesterday.

For current closure and evacuation information, please follow Lake County Office of Emergency Management. We ask that the public respect the closures and evacuation area and avoid the area of Mt Massive and Hagerman Pass.