Colorado’s largest active wildfire surpassed 100,000 acres as crews managed to contain more than half of the fire line as of Saturday morning.
The Aspen Acres fire grew by less than a square mile overnight and firefighters increased containment to 61%, fire officials said in a morning update.
Fire crews have slowed growth and increased containment on six Colorado wildfires that have consumed more than 212,000 acres, or 332 square miles.
Jump to: Aspen Acres fire | Gold Mountain fire | Elk fire | Fishhook fire | Ferris fire | Willow fire
Aspen Acres fire in Custer and Pueblo counties
Colorado’s largest active wildfire, and the , surpassed the 100,000-acre mark on Saturday but has not seen large jumps in growth, fire officials said.
The fire’s footprint was 100,224 acres as of Saturday morning, an overnight increase of 404 acres or about half a square mile, and firefighters increased containment to 61%, up from 48% the day before.
Huerfano County officials lifted evacuation orders for people living in the Libre area on Saturday morning, though mandatory evacuations remain for parts of and
Fire officials estimated the has destroyed close to 900 structures, though it’s unclear how many of those are homes.
The following roads are closed on Saturday because of the fire, according to the Colorado Department of Transportation:
- between Colorado 96 and Grand Vista Drive
- between Colorado 165 and Pueblo Mountain Park Road
The exact cause of the fire remains under investigation, but officials believe it was human-caused.
Gold Mountain fire near Ouray
Most evacuations have been lifted in the north of Ouray, which has not seen significant growth in about a week.
Most of the fire’s activity is in high elevations with “substantial dead and down and standing dead trees,” officials said Saturday morning. The fire’s footprint remained at 37,734 acres, or roughly 59 square miles, with 13% containment as of Saturday morning, fire officials said.
Mandatory evacuations remain in place for the northern edge of the wildfire in remote areas of
“Although aspects of the Gold Mountain Fire will take weeks to resolve, crews are taking advantage of this period of favorable weather to strengthen defensible lines and prepare for potential increase in fire activity,” fire officials said.
Officials aren’t sure what caused the fire, which started at about 5:30 p.m. on June 27.
Elk fire
Growth on the slowed overnight as fire crews worked on protecting structures from the 2,274-acre fire near Lake City, just east of the Gold Mountain fire.
The fire, sparked by lightning on July 9, is burning mostly in “remote, rugged wilderness terrain where steep slopes, limited access, and complex terrain present significant risks to firefighters,” officials said Saturday morning. Crews are mostly using indirect tactics to suppress the fire, including using natural barriers and roads to build fire lines.
Evacuations remained in place for residents west of Colorado 149 and north of the Independence Gulch Trailhead to the county line on Thursday. .
Fishhook fire
Crews are making good progress building fire lines on the near Steamboat Springs, which remained at 347 acres with no containment on Saturday morning
The fire is in the Routt National Forest near Rabbit Ears Pass, roughly three miles from the Steamboat Ski Resort. Routt County officials closed the area bordered to the south and west by U.S. 40, to the east by the county line and to the north by Fish Creek and Mount Werner.
Pre-evacuation orders are also in effect south of the public safety closure, .
The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
Ferris fire in San Juan National Forest, near Dolores
in the Ferris fire as crews make “outstanding progress” containing the blaze, fire officials said Saturday morning.
Closures for U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management land are still active.
Firefighters increased containment to 71% and no growth was reported on the 64,881-acre wildfire, according to an update Saturday.
Widespread showers and storms helped suppress the fire on Saturday and crews are starting to wind down operations and focus on cleanup and repair from firefighting activity.
The lightning-sparked fire is the 10th-largest wildfire in recorded Colorado history.
Willow fire near Leadville
Fire officials did not report any growth on the near Leadville, which has 6,967 acres with 37% containment as of Saturday morning.
The fire threatened 1,132 structures, officials said, but didn’t specify how many were homes. About 91 residents have evacuated.
Mandatory evacuations were still in place on Saturday, including Turquoise Lake, west of Lake County Road 11, north of Echo Creek and east of the Pitkin County line. .
The cause of the fire, which started on June 29, remains under investigation.
