More than 260 homes have been destroyed by the Aspen Acres fire in Pueblo and Custer counties, the sheriffs said Monday afternoon.
The state’s largest ongoing wildfire, the Aspen Acres fire, jumped in size overnight Sunday and into Monday to 91,982 acres, roughly 143 square miles and nearly the size of Denver. As of Monday morning, the wildfire was the seventh-largest in Colorado history, according to the Colorado Division of Fire Prevention and Control. Nearly 12,000 people, mostly in Pueblo County, have been evacuated because of the blaze.
Incident Commander Jake Livingston said firefighter teams had made progress on building a perimeter on the eastern side of the fire, which is closer to more populated areas, but warned “this fire does remain active and still has potential for large fire growth up in the northern and western areas.”
“Our challenges are really just that itap very hot, very dry and we have high-wind conditions associated with thunderstorms now,” Livingston said.
However, officials were also hopeful for some help from Mother Nature in coming days as monsoonal moisture moves into the area for the next several day — if the rain decides to sit on the blaze and not just kick up wind in the area.
Four active wildfires burning across Colorado had consumed roughly 171,000 acres, or 267 square miles, on Monday, according to first responders. That’s bigger than .
Together, the active wildfires have forced thousands of evacuations and destroyed hundreds of structures.
Jump to:Aspen Acres fire | Gold Mountain fire|Ferris fire | Willow fire | Air quality alerts
Aspen Acres fire in Custer and Pueblo counties
Officials announced new damage assessments at a Monday afternoon update on the more than 91,000-acre Aspen Acres fire.
In Pueblo County, 185 homes have been destroyed by the fire, as well as four commercial businesses, Sheriff David Lucero said. Emergency responders were in the process of contacting property owners. Another 78 homes have burned in Custer County, Sheriff Rich Smith said.
About 10,000 people in Pueblo County have been evacuated, Lucero said. Smith said about 600 were evacuated in his county and another 1,000 in neighboring Fremont County.
On Monday afternoon, the Pueblo County Sheriff’s Office lifted evacuation orders for people who live west of Interstate 25 and north of Cummings Street, east of South Crow Cutoff, east of Haynes Road and south of Jerry Bass Lane. Those areas remained on pre-evacuation status, however, meaning residents must be prepared to leave again if conditions change.
“I know everyone is anxious about returning home,” Lucero said. “Rest assured, we want to get you back into your homes as soon as possible. Safety is our top priority.”
All areas that were on pre-evacuation status in Fremont County were moved to mandatory evacuation orders shortly after 8 p.m. Sunday, .
Evacuated areas included:
- Fremont County roads 15, 100 and 103
- Newlin Ridge Road
- The Los Pinos subdivision near Florence
- Locke Mountain Estates near Florence
- The towns of Coal Creek, Rockvale and Williamsburg
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A storm moved over the northern fire area on Sunday, bringing winds that pushed the flames toward the town of Wetmore, Operations Section Chief Zach Fleming said in a . Officials said Monday that they’re continuing to deal with very dry, very hot conditions that are now bolstered by high winds from nearby thunderstorms.
The newly evacuated area of Fremont County is north of Wetmore, according to the evacuation map.
As of Monday afternoon, the Aspen Acres fire had consumed an estimated 91,982 acres, or 143 square miles, with 13% containment, . More than 1,500 personnel were on site fighting the blaze.
The wildfire is now the seventh-largest blaze in Colorado history, behind the 108,045-acre Spring Creek fire that sparked in 2018, .
Roughly 1,112 personnel were on scene overnight to fight the wildfire, .
Pueblo County officials estimated Saturday that the Aspen Acres fire had destroyed more than 200 homes, but damage assessment teams haven’t yet been able to assess the full burn area because of the active fire.
Thousands of people remained under evacuation orders in Pueblo and Custer counties on Monday, and pre-evacuation warnings were in place in Huerfano County. :
- To the north: Colorado 96 between Wetmore and Pueblo
- To the east: Red Creek Springs Road at Colorado 96, then from Bronquist to Colorado 78, Muldoon Hill to Burnt Mill; South Burnt Mill Road to Interstate 25; and I-25 to Huerfano County
- To the south: Huerfano-Pueblo county line
- To the west: the Custer-Pueblo county line to County Road 371, then Colorado 165
Evacuated residents can seek shelter at the Pueblo County Recreation Center, 1650 Cooper Place; the Wetmore Community Center, 95 County Road 393; or at Pathfinder Park in Florence, 6655 Colorado 115.
As of Monday morning, according to the Colorado Department of Transportation, the following roads remained closed:
- between Silver Cliff and Siloam Road west of Pueblo
- between the Fremont County line and Wetmore
- between McKenzie Junction and Interstate 25
- between Colorado 165 and Rock Creek Road west of Pueblo
The exact origin of the fire remains under investigation, but officials believe it was human-caused.
Gold Mountain fire near Ouray
A wildfire burning north of Ouray in western Colorado consumed another 1,200 acres on Sunday, and crews gained a small amount of containment for the first time, according to fire officials.
The was burning on 27,698 acres, or 43 square miles, with 3% containment on Sunday, according to an from Rocky Mountain Area Complex Incident Management Team 3, which is leading the fire response.
“Containment is based on the amount of fire perimeter that has been secured, not the number of acres burned,” fire officials stated in the update. “As the total acres burned increases, the containment percentage may temporarily stay the same or even decrease, even though firefighters continue to make progress securing more fireline.”
remained in place Monday north and west of the fire, according to .
The western evacuation zone includes Lake Lenore and is bordered to the west by U.S. 550, to the north by Cutler Creek, to the east by the wildfire burn area and to the south by Bridalveil Creek. The northern evacuation zone is bordered to the west by Ouray County Road 8 and Ouray County Road 10, to the north by Tommy Creek, to the east by Lou Creek Pass and to the south by Baldy Peak and the wildfire.
The Gunnison County Office of Emergency Management issued for residents in the southwest county. The evacuation area is south of Storm King Peak and east of Cimmaron Ridge to County Road 864A in the Cimmaron Valley. Residents in the Bear Claw, Silver Jack, Eagle’s Rest and Little Bighorn subdivisions should evacuate immediately, officials said.
Evacuated residents can seek shelter at the Ridgway Secondary School, 1200 Green St., according to county officials.
“If you choose to ignore this Mandatory Evacuation order, you must understand that emergency services will not be available and you may not be rescued,” . “Volunteers will NOT be allowed to enter the area to provide assistance.”
Ferris fire in San Juan National Forest, near Dolores
The grew by more than 8,800 acres on Sunday, scorching a total of 51,622 acres — 80 square miles — by that evening, . At that time, the fire was estimated to be 22% contained.
The wildfire’s growth prompted new evacuations from the Dolores-Montezuma border north to Dolores County Road H.6, and east of Dolores County Road 15 to Canyon Rim, according to the .
Previous evacuations remained in place on Monday for residents east and west of the wildfires, according to Dolores County emergency officials. The eastern evacuation area was bordered to the north by Disappointment Road, to the south by the Glade Ranch community, to the west by the fire and to the east by Lone Mesa, according to the office. The western zone was bordered to the north by County Road J, to the south by County Road S, to the west by Cahone and to the east by the Bradfield area.
The Ferris fire started as three separate fires, all sparked by lightning in the San Juan National Forest on June 27. San Juan Incident Management Team 8 is leading the fire response.
Willow fire near Leadville
As of Monday morning, the burning west of Leadville had consumed 4,143 acres with 1% containment, according to Southwest Area Incident Management Team 4.
Mandatory evacuations remained in place on Monday for an area bordered to the north by Galena Mountain, to the west by Twining Peak, to the south by Echo Creek and to the east by the Arkansas River. .
Firefighters spent Sunday pre-burning areas ahead of the fire’s spread to stifle its growth and limit available fuels, according to fire officials.
“While these operations may produce visible flames and smoke, they are a planned firefighting tactic used to remove vegetation under favorable conditions before the main fire reaches the area,” fire officials stated in a .
Air quality alerts
Wildfire smoke has consistently worsened air quality across Colorado over the past week, .
The newest alert from the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment will remain in effect until at least 9 a.m. Tuesday, . That alert covers Chaffee, Custer, Delta, Dolores, Fremont, Gunnison, Hinsdale, La Plata, Lake, Mesa, Mineral, Montezuma, Montrose, Ouray, Park, Pueblo, Saguache, San Juan, San Miguel and Summit counties.
If the smoke drops visibility to less than 5 miles in an area, it has reached unhealthy levels, state health officials said in the alert. Those with heart disease and respiratory illnesses, young children and older adults are more at risk.
An ozone action day alert was also in effect Monday for the Front Range Urban Corridor, from Douglas County to Larimer and Weld counties, . The alert will remain in effect until at least 4 p.m. Monday and covers the Denver area, the Boulder area, Fort Collins and Greeley.
“Active children and adults, and people with lung disease, such as asthma, should reduce prolonged or heavy outdoor exertion,” state health officials wrote in the alert.
This is a developing story and may be updated.
