Fire crews gained some containment on one of five wildfires burning across Colorado on Tuesday, while others forced more people to evacuate their homes. The fires charred roughly 148 square miles and destroyed at least 100 buildings.
The Snyder, Gold Mountain, Ferris, Willow and Aspen Acres fires have consumed 94,189 acres as of Tuesday evening.
While fire officials said crews made good progress, firefighters are also facing terrain that’s often extremely steep or inaccessible as well as high temperatures, low humidity and gusty winds.
Aspen Acres fire in Custer and Pueblo counties
Driven by 100 mph winds, the Aspen Acres fire has consumed 28,362 acres — roughly 44 square miles — since it sparked Monday, destroyed at least 100 structures and forced evacuations, according to the Pueblo County Sheriff’s Office.
Damage assessment teams are still working on getting to the structures destroyed by the wildfire and will contact property owners directly whenever possible, Pueblo County Sheriff David Lucero said during an update Tuesday afternoon.
Fire activity picked up Tuesday night, leading Pueblo County officials to issue new evacuation orders for people living in the North Creek area, including Central Road to the Custer County Line.
“DO NOT WAIT. PLEASE EVACUATE NOW,” the Pueblo County Sheriff’s Office said in a post on X.
Mandatory evacuations in the Beulah, Rye, San Isabel Lake, Aspen Acres, Lazy Acres and Bishops Castle areas and surrounding roads are still in place.
Snyder fire in Mesa County and Utah
Colorado’s largest wildfire saw a small amount of growth overnight Monday and into Tuesday as firefighters worked on building lines along eastern and southern edges to prevent more spread.
, which killed three firefighters and injured two others Saturday, scorched 30,209 acres, or 47 square miles, with 10% containment as of Tuesday evening.
The wildfire’s footprint grew about 200 acres between Monday night and Tuesday afternoon, mostly by smoldering and creeping along the eastern edge, said in an update posted on social media.
Lighter winds have helped firefighters in the past few days, Ostrom said, but National Weather Service forecasters on Tuesday issued a for critical fire weather conditions that are expected until at least Thursday.
Colorado Parks and Wildlife officials on Tuesday closed the boat ramp to the Colorado River in the James M Robb State Park for firefighter safety.
Gold Mountain fire near Ouray
A complex incident management team took over the Gold Mountain fire near Ouray on Monday night as the wildfire continued to burn across “very steep, inaccessible country.”
Fire officials mapped the wildfire at 12,376 acres, or almost 20 square miles, as of Tuesday night, up from 7,103 acres on Monday.
Ouray County officials ordered more mandatory evacuations on Tuesday afternoon, including Lower Cow Creek east of county roads 12 and 12A to the Owl Creek U.S. Forest Service Boundary. Previous mandatory evacuation orders for other areas of Ouray County are still in place, sheriff’s officials said, and part of .
Ferris fire in San Juan National Forest, near Dolores
The lightning-sparked continued burning on 21,495 acres, or 33 square miles, with no containment northwest of Dolores, but firefighters managed to stop it from spreading into a nearby subdivision despite strong winds and low humidity.
Mandatory evacuations are still in place for people living north and east of the wildfires, including the Glade Ranch subdivision, according to the .
Firefighters are focused on protecting homes and the historic , operations section chief Pat Seekins said in an update.
Federal and state wildlife officials have closed public access to lands near the fire for safety, including the Bradfield Bridge Campground, Lone Dome State Wildlife Area and surrounding roads.
Willow fire near Leadville
People living near Turquoise Lake west of Leadville remained under mandatory evacuation on Tuesday as crews continued fighting the Willow fire.
The wildfire is burning on 2,011, or 3 square miles, with no containment in the San Isabel National Forest near the Leadville National Fish Hatchery.
Firefighters are focused on building lines to stop the fire from moving west, toward homes near the Halfmoon Diversion Dam, and east toward Leadville, Operations Chief William Dudley said Tuesday night.
Campgrounds around Turquoise Lake, the Colorado Trail and Hagerman Pass into Pitkin County are also under evacuation orders, Lake County officials said.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.
