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Smell smoke? It's likely from the Pine Gulch Fire

Agencies on the Front Range said the smell of smoke isn't from local fire activity but from the wildfire on the Western Slope.

DENVER — Many people across the Front Range woke up to the scent of smoke on Saturday morning, but the origin wasn't local.

The smoke smell was coming from the Pine Gulch Fire on the Western Slope, according to several local fire agencies.

The Pine Gulch Fire started more than a week ago in Mesa County about a mile south of the Garfield County Line. As of Saturday morning, the wildfire 18 miles north of Grand Junction had grown to 20,089 acres, from 13,680 acres the day before. It has 0% containment.

> Video above: Pine Gulch Fire update from Friday, Aug. 7.

Agencies including Boulder County Sheriff's Office, Evergreen Fire Rescue, Elk Creek Fire Rescue and the U.S. Forest Service took to social media to reassure people on the Front Range that they weren't responding to any fire activity in their areas.

The National Weather Service for Grand Junction shared satellite images on Friday showing the plume of smoke from the Pine Gulch Fire. The plume covers areas of Rio Blanco, Garfield, Moffat and Routt counties. Southwest winds were blowing the smoke to the northeast.

The Pine Gulch Fire was reported on July 31 and was started by lightning. It was burning in remote, rough terrain. A Type 2 Incident Management Team took over fighting the fire on Tuesday.

As of Saturday, 466 personnel were fighting the fire. Hot, dry and windy conditions were expected to continue Saturday afternoon and lead to extreme fire behavior.

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