[4][1] The Pine Gulch Fire burned on private and public lands and threatened gas and oil drilling infrastructure.

Started by a lightning strike, the fire spread rapidly, fueled by hot weather, steep terrain, and drought stricken grass, sage, pinyon and fir.

[11] Extremely low humidity, high temperatures and strong winds enabled the fire to grow to over 20,000 acres (8,094 ha) by the evening of August 7.

The fire began burning in closer to Roan Creek and on the south slope of Kimball Mountain.

[16] On August 15, the fire burned onto Garfield Mesa and additional road closures were put in place.

Air tankers began providing support, dumping retardant to slow the fire's spread.

A thunderstorm moved through the western flank and caused wind gusts up to 40 MPH in near Echo Lake, resulting in firefighters having to evacuate the area due to the fire's erratic behavior and fast spread.

[19] This growth resulted in additional evacuation orders in Garfield County for residents east of Highway 139 and closures of 639,111 acres (258,639 ha) of BLM land north of Loma, Fruita, Grand Junction and Palisade.

Evacuation warnings were lifted for all areas west of Highway 139 to the Utah border and BLM closures were reduced.

[28] The Pine Gulch Fire resulted in the evacuation of residences, including along Roan Creek (CR 204) Rd.

[29] The fire impacted air quality in Garfield, Moffat, Mesa and Rio Blanco Counties, including the communities of Craig and Meeker.