New evacuations were ordered Sunday evening for the more than 91,000-acre burning in southern Colorado, according to law enforcement.
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
.
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 .
The newly evacuated area of Fremont County is north of Wetmore, according to the evacuation map.
As of Monday morning, the Aspen Acres fire had consumed an estimated 91,523 acres, or 143 square miles, with 12% containment, .
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.
This is a developing story and may be updated.
