Colorado’s largest active wildfire consumed more than 8,000 acres overnight as hundreds more firefighters arrived in Pueblo and Custer counties to try to slow the fire’s spread.
The Aspen Acres fire roared across another 13 square miles late Friday night and early Saturday morning and has now burned 85,585 acres, or 134 square miles, the said in a morning update.
It is the eighth largest wildfire in Colorado history, just behind the 2012 High Park fire, which burned 87,284 acres in Larimer County west of Fort Collins. That fire destroyed 259 homes and killed one person.
While cloud cover and higher humidity calmed the fire in some spots overnight, areas near “remained active overnight, with the fire continuing to advance and impact structures,” fire officials wrote.
The Aspen Acres fire has likely destroyed more than 200 homes, but the fire conditions have stopped damage assessment teams from accessing some areas to get a clearer picture, Pueblo County officials said.
While Saturday started off with slightly more humidity and some cloud cover, afternoon thunderstorms will increase the chance of lightning and wind gusts up to 55 mph, officials said in a morning update.
Thousands of people are still under evacuation orders in Pueblo and Custer counties, and pre-evacuation warnings are in place in Fremont and Huerfano counties. More than 300 firefighters arrived at the wildfire on Friday and more are expected to check in on Saturday, fire officials said.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
