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Several Colorado wildfires grew on Tuesday as fire crews fought to maintain and make progress on containing the flames amid windy afternoon thunderstorms and continued high temperatures.
The Aspen Acres fire has forced more than 12,000 people to evacuate and destroyed 266 homes in Pueblo and Custer counties, according to law enforcement. It remains the seventh-largest wildfire in Colorado history.
The wildfire and three other active fires in Colorado have together consumed more than 187,000 acres, or 292 square miles. .
Jump to:Aspen Acres fire | Gold Mountain fire|Ferris fire | Willow fire | Air quality alerts
Aspen Acres fire in Custer and Pueblo counties
The in southern Colorado was burning on an estimated 93,916 acres — 147 square miles — with 16% containment as of Tuesday evening, fire officials said.
The fire’s footprint is approaching the size of Denver, which is a little over 153 square miles and remains the seventh-largest in Colorado history, according to the Colorado Division of Fire Prevention and Control. Fire officials believe it has destroyed at least 266 homes.
In Pueblo County, 185 homes have been destroyed by the fire, as well as four commercial businesses, Sheriff David Lucero said on Monday. Another 81 homes have burned in Custer County, Sheriff Rich Smith said.
Law enforcement is in the process of contacting affected property owners, according to the sheriff’s offices.
Nearly 1,700 personnel were on scene Tuesday morning to fight the wildfire, according to fire officials.
Evacuees anxious to return home as fight against ‘monster’ Aspen Acres fire continues
About 10,000 people in Pueblo County have been evacuated, Lucero said on Monday. Smith estimated that 600 were evacuated in his county and another 1,000 were evacuated in Fremont County.
The Pueblo County Sheriff’s Office lifted evacuation orders on Monday 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, meaning residents must be prepared to leave again if conditions change.
As of Tuesday morning, , according to the evacuation map. The evacuation area included Williamsburg, Rockvale and Coal Creek and was bordered to the west by Locke Mountain, to the south by the Pueblo and Custer county lines, to the east by Ritchie Gulch and to the north by Florence and Brookside.
Updated evacuation information for and for can be found online.
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.
Incident Commander Jake Livingston said Monday that 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.”
Afternoon thunderstorms have brought and will bring strong wind gusts to the area, which can spur the fire's growth, Livingston said. However, moisture from the storms could help quell the flames.
The following roads remained closed for the fire as of Tuesday morning, according to the Colorado Department of Transportation:
- 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
The grew by about 3,700 acres, or 2 square miles, on Monday, consuming a total of 31,420 acres. Containment on the roughly 49-square-mile blaze grew to 8% contained as of Tuesday evening, .
As of Monday, 928 personnel were on scene to fight the wildfire, according to Rocky Mountain Complex Incident Management Team 3, which is leading the fire response.
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.
Evacuations were also ordered northeast of the Cimarron Ridge, along the border of Gunnison and Montrose counties, according to the map.
Evacuated residents can seek shelter at the Ridgway Secondary School, 1200 Green St., according to county officials.
Ferris fire in San Juan National Forest, near Dolores
The , burning near the San Juan National Forest near Dolores, had consumed an estimated 57,356 acres, or 90 square miles, as of Tuesday evening. It grew by 9 square miles on Tuesday.
Containment dropped from 22% on Monday night to 19% with the fire's growth.
Lightning sparked three fires in the San Juan National Forest on June 27. Those fires then grew and merged into the Ferris fire. San Juan Incident Management Team 8 is leading the fire response.
Willow fire near Leadville
Little growth was reported on the on Tuesday, and crews increased containment from 5% to 10%, fire officials said.
As of Tuesday evening, the fire had consumed roughly 4,333 acres, or about 7 square miles, according to California Team 7, which took command of the fire from Southwest Area Incident Management Team 4 on Tuesday, .
Mandatory evacuations remained in place on Tuesday 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. .
Air quality alerts
The four fires have led to consistently worsening air quality across the state, prompting state health officials to issue advisories. The official warnings mostly cover central, west and southwest Colorado.
The newest alert from the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment will remain in effect until at least 9 a.m. Wednesday, . That alert includes Chaffee, Custer, Delta, Dolores, Eagle, Fremont, Gunnison, Hinsdale, La Plata, Lake, Mesa, Mineral, Montezuma, Montrose, Ouray, Park, Pitkin, 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 issued 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. Tuesday 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.
