But on July 3 of last year, five federal departments filed rules in the Federal Register that gutted their own environmental review regulations. Agriculture. Interior. Energy. Transportation. Defense filed twice. All six took effect the day they were published, with public comment invited afterward, if at all.

It wasn’t a secret. An executive order signed the previous January had given every federal agency 12 months to revise its environmental procedures, and July 3 was the deadline. The rules shrinking public comment didn’t themselves go out for public comment.

Why would a government work this hard to stop hearing from people?

In April 2024, at a dinner at Mar-a-Lago, an oil executive complained that his industry had spent $400 million lobbying the previous administration and rules still hadn’t been changed. Trump’s answer to the 20 or so executives in the room was that they raise him a billion dollars. He was specific about the return — more oil and gas leases auctioned on federal land. He called it a deal.

The Washington Post and The New York Times reported the “deal” within a month, and two congressional committees opened inquiries, but nobody in the administration disputed it.

Trump’s Forest Service chief came from a vice presidency at one of the largest lumber producers in the country.

Interior’s third-ranking official holds grazing permits on a quarter-million acres managed by the BLM and got an ethics waiver this March to work on ranching and grazing issues. The agency’s grazing overhaul covers 155 million acres while narrowing who’s allowed to object.

The BLM’s director made his fortune in oil and gas. The BLM gave the public seven days to weigh in on stripping protection from the country around Chaco Canyon National Historical Park, which the Park Service describes as a “sacred and deeply personal place for many Indigenous peoples.”ĚýComments were accepted online only and public participation cut from 90 days to 10.

The Forest Service wants to slash comment on a timber project from 30 days to 10, delete the meeting where objections used to get worked out in a room, and hand review of your objection to the official who made the decision to which you’re objecting.

The 2001 Roadless Rule protected 58 million acres of national forest land from development and took 430 public meetings and 1.6 million comments to write. The Agriculture Department recently erased the rule with 21 days of public comment and not a single public meeting.

I’ve heard talk about whether it’s time for a march on Washington. Meanwhile, here’s what works.

Last summer, a proposed bill in Congress would have forced the sale of 3.3 million acres and put 250 million more acres on the table, but hunters and anglers and hikers and Westerners who would sooner eat their hat than call themselves environmentalists made so much noise that Republican senators went after it in public.

Backcountry Hunters and Anglers alone logged nearly 115,000 calls and emails. The bill died. Utah Republican Sen. Mike Lee says he’ll be back for it — and I believe him — but it died.

Comments still matter even when they lose, because they go into the administrative record, and the record is what a federal judge reads two years later. When the Agriculture Department collected 46,845 comments on dismantling the Forest Service, it found 82% opposed yet answered none of the objections. That silence became a claim in a lawsuit this January.

Every comment filed, and every phone call, puts one more name on a list of people paying attention, and that list is the only thing that has ever stopped this internal destruction. It isn’t foolproof. Erasing the Roadless Rule drew 625,737 comments, and the rescission is proceeding anyway. What the public land sell-off had that the Roadless Rule didn’t was a vote that a member of Congress had to cast with their name on it.

The pendulum swings, as it always has, and when it turns, how much of the damage gets undone might come down to how many of us showed up on the day it happened.

Will Pattiz is a contributor to Writers on the Range, an independent nonprofit dedicated to spurring lively conversation about the West. He is co-founder of More Than Just Parks, a public lands advocacy and media organization.

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Those are the selling points of dispersed camping sites, according to folks who use camping app The Dyrt, which recently released six .

Shavano Mountain ranked No. 3 in the mountain region and, surprisingly, was the only Colorado spot to make the cut. Rankings were based on The Dyrt¶¶Ňőap user ratings and reviews.

Located on Bureau of Land Management land, the area is a favorite because it has plenty of options along three loops that climb the mountainside and because it serves as a good home base for fishing and rafting adventures on the Arkansas River, The Dyrt wrote.

Additionally, the area is located near two of Colorado’s tallest mountains. Mount Shavano, near Poncha Springs, reaches 14,228 feet, and there’s a hiking route that connects to Tabeguache Peak at 14,157 feet. Because the dispersed camping is on BLM land, there’s no fee for overnight stays.

“Elevation delivers expansive vistas, with many sites overlooking the valley and mountains, and some offering a view of the city lights below,” The Dyrt said. “Sites are big and private enough that some campers report not seeing a single car pass by all day, and most come with existing rock fire pits.” (The forest is currently under , so remember always to check before building a campfire.)

The fact that only one Colorado destination made the list is surprising, since last year The Dyrt ranked two local campgrounds among the best in the entire country. In fact, Lost Lake Campground near Crested Butte took top honors as the No. 1 campground in the U.S.

Campers in the mountain region instead seem to be frequenting the desert this year, with Valley of the Gods in Utah placing first on the list and Navajo National Monument Canyon View Campground in Arizona coming in second. The top five was rounded out by Dark Sky RV Park & Campground in Utah (No. 4) and Lost Moose Meadows Campground in Montana (No. 5). ()

If you’re seeking camping recommendations in Colorado, here are 10 of our stalwart favorites. But if you’re looking to go somewhere off the beaten path, check out Lake City, an underrated destination where you can find an amazing spot even during the height of summer tourism.

The Glenwood Hot Springs Protection Act, backed by Bennet, Hurd and U.S. Sen. John Hickenlooper, was announced during a virtual press call with local officials, tribal representatives and community leaders who said the quarry poses a threat to Glenwood Springs’ hot springs, tourism economy and quality of life. The bill was introduced in the House as H.R. 9826, Hurd said Thursday. Bennet said a companion bill was being introduced in the Senate the same day.

“Together we’re introducing bipartisan legislation with Senator Hickenlooper and Representative Hurd to stop the BLM from approving any expansion of the Mid-Continent Quarry,” Bennet said. “The Glenwood Hot Springs are part of who we are as Coloradans, and I am glad to lead this fight to protect them.”

The announcement came after Ěýin June, moving the proposal into technical review before a future public review process. .

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’sĚýfootprint 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.

Fire crews increased containment on the state’s largest active wildfire, the Aspen Acres fire, to 34% as of Saturday, up from 28% on Friday. The wildfire grew by less than a square mile overnight and has consumed 97,505 acres, or 152 square miles, since it sparked in Pueblo County on June 29.

“This is a long duration event,” said in an update Saturday morning. “It¶¶Ňőap not going to be out before we leave, and like many fires that occur on the Colorado Front Range, they can go well beyond today. And many times it¶¶Ňőap the snow that falls in the wintertime that puts them out.”

The Alaska Incident Management Team will hand over command of the fire to a different incident management team in the coming days, Washa said. Fire officials have said it¶¶Ňőap standard procedure to rotate teams after a certain amount of time.

All four of Colorado’s major wildfires – Aspen Acres, Ferris, Gold Mountain and Willow – have in effect, as well as with closure orders on public lands near the fires. They collectively have burned 200,976 acres, or 314 square miles.

Most of the Aspen Acres fire’s activity on Friday was along the southwestern edge near the YMCA-owned Camp Jackson, and crews are also working to prepare homes along the southern edge in case the fire makes a run toward Rye, Washa said. Fire officials are trying to get in contact with more than 100 homeowners to get permission to do mitigation work on their properties. Anyone who may be on the list should contact the Aspen Acres team at 2026.aspenacres@firenet.gov or 719-697-8353, Washa said.

The Ferris fire continues to actively burn in and around Dolores Canyon in southwestern Colorado, fire officials said Saturday, but saw minimal growth overnight. The fire has consumed 63,271 acres, or 99 square miles, since it began burning on June 27, and remains 19% contained.

officials ordered more public land closures south of the Dolores/San Miguel county line on Saturday because of fire danger, including east of Colorado 140 and north of Dolores County Road H.6.

Crews likely will face record-high temperatures between 90 and 100 degrees this weekend, along with single-digit humidity levels and wind gusts up to 40 mph.

“We are at critical levels across the landscape,” Operations Section Chief Joe Tieso said in an update Saturday morning. “The next couple of days are important to us.”

To the north near Ouray, containment on the Gold Mountain fire dropped by 1% after the wildfire started growing on the northeastern edge near Cimarron Ridge and Nate Creek, fire officials said.

The fire has charred 34,848 acres, or 54 square miles, since it started June 27. It was 6% contained Saturday after growing by about 3 square miles on Friday.

The wildfire sparked several spot fires and produced significant heat as it grew, and while smoke cover hampered some of the fire growth earlier in the day, it picked back up late Friday and established on the east side of the West Fork of Cimarron Creek.

On the Willow fire near Leadville, Lake County officials are looking at lifting some mandatory evacuations in the coming days, Sheriff Heath Speckman saidĚý Saturday. All recent evacuation orders and road closures are still in effect.

The Willow fire grew by a little more than a square mile overnight, in part because firefighters proactively burned parts of the forest to prevent the wildfire from spreading, Speckman said. Flames have burned across 5,352 acres, or a little more than 8 square miles, since the fire started near Turquoise Lake on June 29.

Hot, dry weather that can cause fire growth is also expected near the Willow fire this weekend, fire officials said Saturday.

“An uptick in fire behavior is expected as a combination of high winds, low humidity and dry fuels are setting the Leadville area up for another stretch of critical fire weather conditions forecast to last through the coming days,” officials said.

The first time was after I described a hike I’d just taken in Oregon’s Siskiyou Mountains. The trail was narrow and rocky and picked its way across a steep mountainside. It was hot, the footing was tricky, and I’m 73 years old with a gimpy knee. Exhilarating but hard.

The second time was after I mentioned a political demonstration I’d just attended — one of many.

But both times, I answered that question about what keeps me going with no hesitation: wildflowers.

That mountain hike was through an area dominated by rocks that originated in the Earth’s mantle and were transformed by great pressure on the deep seafloor before being uplifted millions of years ago. These rocks are low in calcium and other soil nutrients and high in metals like chromium that are toxic to most plants. So any plants able to survive and grow here are special, and to see them and their beautiful flowers, you have to hike into places that seem barren until you walk slowly and look carefully.

My greatest reward on the Siskiyou Mountains hike was the split-hair paintbrush, its flowers a unique delicate lavender, their outline softened by downy silver hairs. Then there were the hardy succulent stonecrops, the oddly twisted flowers of parrots-beak, and the delicate blossoms of Lewis flax, their color the same cerulean blue as the sky.

Finally, at the end of the trail, I came to a glade with tall beargrass in bloom, their tiny star-shaped flowers gathered into white globes that seemed to hang weightless in the air. All in all, an incomparable reward for my aches and pains.

The political demonstration was completely different. Joining some friends and neighbors, I went because of my burning sense of outrage about a senseless foreign war and also my strong sense of civic duty. I admit it often seems futile to make these gestures of resistance in a little town in southern Oregon. But I don’t stop, and what keeps me going, what gives me the energy and will to speak up, is time spent outside with flowers, birds and the beauty of wild landscapes. In short, the nurturing grace of nature.

I know many people are suffering from the corruption and incompetence of this administration. As a conservation biologist, I am outraged at the attacks on our federal public lands and the dismantling of responsible stewardship by the Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, and National Park Service. As a scientist, I am appalled at the defunding and mismanagement of our nation’s scientific enterprise, from the National Science Foundation to the Centers for Disease Control. As a citizen, I am furious at the attempts to undermine our system of free and fair elections. As a human being, I am sickened by the treatment of our immigrant friends and neighbors.

Turning away is of no help, while keeping going as long as it takes seems to require two kinds of response: Resistance, then recharge.

Resistance can take as many forms as there are outrages to resist, from writing letters to the editor, to registering voters, to taking to the streets to protest or when immigration agents show up. Recharge, too, will be different for different people. But for everyone, I recommend that it includes time in nature. Most of us have an intuitive understanding that time spent outdoors is good for our mental health. A recent spate of research confirms these benefits, such as lowered blood pressure, improved immune function, and reduced stress hormones — all have been shown to correlate with time spent in nature.

My hike across a hot, rocky mountainside would definitely not qualify for what the Japanese call “forest bathing.”Ěý Nor would sitting quietly in a busy city park or your own backyard. But time outdoors doesn’t have to be challenging or fancy to get us out of ourselves and away from screens, giving us the chance to reconnect with the living, breathing Earth.

It just feels good. Resist. Recharge. Repeat. And don’t forget to stop and smell the flowers.

Pepper Trail is a conservation biologist and contributor to Writers on the Range, writersontherange.org, an independent nonprofit dedicated to spurring lively conversation about the West. He writes in Oregon.

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Colorado’s world-class elk herd is in trouble! The Bureau of Land Management.

Many sportsmen understand the West Slope is the Serengeti of the West. We have more elk in Congressional District 3 than most of the elk states combined. Also, up until the oil and gas explosion drilling in 2003-2010 we had the largest mule deer population in the nation.

BLM is proposing gas and oil leases on the Roan Plateau of 126,744 acres. This is in the heart of the finest and most critical elk habitat in Colorado. The West Slope elk herd is over 250,000 animals, and this is its major range. The towns of Meeker, Maybell and Craig depend on fall hunting for important economics and recreation.

Elk range near Dinosaur National Monument is also open for oil and gas drilling.

Dinosaur National Monument, where a 156,000-acre lease sale will take place in mid-June. Included in a June 16 lease sale by the Bureau of Land Management encompass elk, pronghorn and mule deer migration corridors that extend into southern Wyoming. Many sit in Moffat County, which bills itself as the “Elk Hunting Capital of the World,” and relies on hunting in part for its economic stability.

Contact the BLM office before July 8th. No drilling on the Road!

Jerry Mallett, Salida

Philosophy and morality are a foundation of America

Re: “Philosophy exam a right of passage for teenagers,” June 21, news story.

Many thanks for headlining the article in last Sunday’s paper about the philosophy course required by all high schools in France. Philosophy literally means “love of wisdom” and involves the systematic study of basic questions about human nature, knowledge, and values, as well as the best ways to organize society. Our self-educated Founding Fathers drew heavily on their knowledge of philosophy, from the works of Plato and Aristotle up through the Enlightenment writings of Locke, Hume, Montesquieu, and Adam Smith, in creating our democratic republic and Constitution. They also repeatedly emphasized the critical importance of creating educational systems designed primarily to produce good citizens by cultivating intellectual and moral character, rather than providing a path to personal wealth.

An educated electorate, motivated by civic virtue, was considered essential to the survival of the republic, as ignorance would make people vulnerable to demagoguery and corruption. As the article states, the year-long French course requires students to think seriously about important universal issues, such as the nature of work, freedom, justice, truth, and happiness. Sadly, in this country, philosophy is often seen as an esoteric subject, with little relevance to everyday life. Most high schools and colleges provide little exposure to philosophy, and philosophy majors have represented less than half of one percent of college majors over the past 10 years.

As an increasing number of people are getting their information from social media or highly biased news commentators, what an important difference it could make if our schools were able to help us think more seriously about the important life issues addressed byĚýphilosophersĚýand learn from the wisdom of the past! Perhaps we would all be able to better discern what really matters and engage in more informed and respectful discussions about core life issues and a democratic republic that works for everyone.

Karen Timmons, Westminster

NBA’s foul problem will haunt the Nuggets

Re: “Want Jokic to sign an extension? You’ll have to break up the core,” June 30 sports story.

I don’t claim the game of Basketball is getting more like hockey; it clearlyĚýis.

Tactical fouling seemed in the forefront this last season, using grunt defenders to viciouslyĚýpester and foul where they think they can get away with it. The reffing can’t keep up. Scratching and tripping and pinpoint joint-disruption are considered ticky-tacky and unworthy of delaying the game. Hooray. All I see is Jokic throwing in the towel because it’s all so stupid and degrading. Europe calls sooner than we realize.

I wish you’d see it this way and talk about it more. In the meantime, I favor David Roddy as a defender and an in-kind response to the Lu Dorts in the league, a lot like enforcers in hockey. He may be short by NBA standards, but so was Barkley. He sure played well in the few games they let him in.

I don’t believe the Nuggets will win another title, nor do I care if they don’t. I just want to watch Jokic as a Nugget while I still can. And Murray and Gordon and Braun and my Dear Watson.

Geof Erdahl, Evergreen

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What we literally have in common – own in common – are our public lands, our national parks and forests. In the West especially, glance at the photo library on your phone and it will probably look a lot like the person’s next to you in the coffee shop. Your parents’ and grandparents’ faded photo family albums probably have similar pictures too. That¶¶Ňőap because our public lands shape us. They hold our uniquely American stories.

Memories of that backcountry trip. High meadow lakes. Campfires. A bird dog, smiling next to a grouse. A successful deer hunt. A first fish. A family picnic. Close your eyes for a second, and you can probably see your own moments in a wild place.

All of this comes from the wild public lands we all still own. Which is why it is so unsettling that the administration continues to try to hand those places over to the highest bidder. And why it¶¶Ňőap so disturbing that they are pushing deeper into our forests, threatening future generations’ freedom to experience what we have been lucky enough to know.

It¶¶Ňőap hard to keep up, but the direction is clear: sacrificing our wild public lands.

Recently, the president from Presidents Nixon and Carter that formed the foundation for how agencies manage recreation on our public lands. The process is called travel management planning, and it helps identify the best places for ATVs, dirt bikes, horses, hikers and mountain bikers so people can enjoy public lands safely, responsibly and without undermining each other’s experiences. We have enough public land to support many different ways of getting outside, but only if we plan carefully.

These agreements can be hard to forge, but they help protect access, reduce conflict and keep public lands healthy for all. By ending the basis for them, the administration has left many public land users rightfully nervous about what will happen now.

Meanwhile, the media reported that the administration plans to direct the Forest Service to open lands recommended for . Through an ongoing review, the administration has also signaled it plans to take a similar approach to more than 100 million acres of wildlands managed by the National Park Service, Bureau of Land Management and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

The result would be permanent and intentional: wild places degraded so badly that they would no longer qualify for wilderness designation. Because once wildness is gone, you can’t bring it back.

Most troubling of all is the largest proposed rollback of conservation protections in American history. The administration has announced it intends to and instead allow roads to be punched into some of our wildest public lands.

Here’s what happens when roads get built: they bring wildfire. They pollute streams. They harm wildlife. In my home state of Montana, 97% of summer elk habitat is on unroaded forests, away from civilization, high in the mountains, in cool, deep cover. Such forests also provide clean drinking water for millions of people. They are where people go to hunt and fish and camp and hike — where memories are made.

So why these attacks on our wildest forests? Why steal from future generations? Why open remote places to development when there is an enormous and urgent need to manage the forests near communities, to protect them from wildfire? Why develop wild lands when we could instead put people to work improving access and maintaining trails?

Our country is blessed with lands that are still wild, where wildlife can roam freely, cold creeks still flow, and a person has the freedom to wander. These lands are our common ground. They are where we go to remember what freedom feels like. In a way, conquering them conquers us.

One force can stop this: the people who own these lands, all of us. We can demand better of our elected officials now, and at the ballot box in the months and years ahead. Future generations are counting on it.

Tracy Stone-Manning is a contributor to Writers on the Range, writersontherange.org, an independent nonprofit dedicated to lively conversation about the West. She is president of The Wilderness Society and The Wilderness Society Action Fund.

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Colorado’s largest active wildfire is now the seventh-biggest in state history, according to fire officials.

As of Sunday afternoon, the Aspen Acres fire was burning on 89,055 acres in southern Colorado, Alaska Complex Incident Management Team 1 spokesperson Al Nash said in an email to The Denver Post. The fire has forced thousands of evacuations and destroyed hundreds of buildings across Pueblo and Custer counties.

With the more than 2,000-acre jump in size, the Aspen Acres fire has surpassed the 2012 High Park fire and sits behind the 2018 Spring Creek fire, which consumed 108,045 acres, according to the Colorado Division of Fire Prevention and Control.

The Aspen Acres fire is one of four active fires in Colorado that together have consumed more than 162,000 acres, forced thousands of evacuations and destroyed hundreds of buildings, including homes. The combined burn area of the Willow, Aspen Acres, Gold Mountain and Ferris fires is roughly 253 square miles.

As of Sunday morning, the burning along the Colorado-Utah border was nearly contained, according to fire officials. The wildfire killed three firefighters and consumed roughly 30,200 acres — or 47 square miles — west of Grand Junction after it sparked on June 27. It was estimated to be 95% contained on Sunday.

Together, the five wildfires have scorched more than 190,000 acres, or 297 square miles. That’s nearly twice the size of Denver.

Jump to:ĚýAspen Acres fire | Gold Mountain fireĚý|ĚýFerris fire | Willow fire | Air quality alerts

Aspen Acres fire in Custer and Pueblo counties

Colorado’s largest active wildfire, which sparked last Monday near the Aspen Acres campground, has destroyed hundreds of homes and evacuated thousands of residents.

As of Sunday, the had consumed 89,055 acres, or 139 square miles, and was 14% contained, Nash said. At that time, it was the ,Ěýaccording to records from the Colorado Division of Fire Prevention and Control.

Pueblo County officials estimated Saturday that the Aspen Acres fire had destroyed more than 200 homes between Pueblo and Custer counties, but damage assessment teams haven’t been able to assess the full burn area because of the active fire. More than 1,101 personnel were on scene Sunday to fight the fire, Nash said.

Thousands of people remained under evacuation orders in Pueblo and Custer counties on Sunday, and pre-evacuation warnings were in place in Fremont and Huerfano counties. Rough boundaries of the mandatory evacuation zone include:

• 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 lineĚýto County Road 371, then Colorado 165.

Communities under evacuation include Colorado City, Red Creek Ranch, the North Creek area, Aspen Acres, 12 Mile Road, South Pine Drive, Beulah, Rye, San Isabel Lake and Bishop Castle.Ěý.

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 Sunday morning, according to the Colorado Department of Transportation, road closures included:

• Ěýbetween Silver Cliff and Siloam Road west of Pueblo
• Ěýbetween the Fremont County line and Wetmore
• Ěýbetween McKenzie Junction and I-25
• Ěýbetween Colorado 165 and Rock Creek Road west of Pueblo

Northbound Colorado 67 and Colorado 96 are open for people evacuating Wetmore but remain closed to all other traffic, according to state transportation officials.

The exact origin of the fire remains under investigation, but officials believe it was human-caused.

Firefighters’ primary concern on Sunday will be afternoon thunderstorms, which could bring lightning and erratic winds, according to an update from the fire’s complex incident management team.

Rain from storms may be beneficial, but heavy rain can also cause flash floods and road damage in severely burned areas, officials said in the update.

Gold Mountain fire near Ouray

The Gold Mountain fire, which has consumed thousands of acres since it sparked eight days ago, is burning on mountainous terrain north of Ouray with no containment, fire officials said Sunday.

As of Sunday morning, the had scorched 26,405 acres, according to , which was leading the fire response. That’s roughly 41 square miles.

More than 800 firefighters were on scene Sunday morning to fight the wildfire, which started on June 27, according to fire officials. The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

Mandatory evacuation orders remain active north and west of the fire, according to Ouray County’s .

The southern 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.

Evacuated residents can seek shelter at the Ridgway Secondary School, 1200 Green St., according to county officials.

Federal officials also ordered closures on and in the .

Ferris fire in San Juan National Forest, near Dolores

The had consumed 42,758 acres as of Sunday morning, or 67 square miles, according to San Juan Incident Management Team 8.ĚýAt that time, the fire was estimated to be 7% contained.

The containment estimate declined between Saturday and Sunday because of the wildfire’s growth.

More than 500 personnel were on scene Saturday night to fight the flames, .

The Ferris fire started as three separate fires, all sparked by lightning in the San Juan National Forest on June 27.

Mandatory evacuations remained in effect Sunday for residents east and west of the wildfires, according to the Dolores County Office of Emergency Management. 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 U.S. Forest Service also closed the Bradfield Bridge Campground, Forest Service Road 504 to the base of McPhee Dam, Forest Service Road 521 and Forest Service Road 504 “out of an abundance of caution,”Ěýfederal officials said.

Colorado Parks and Wildlife closed public access to the Lone Dome State Wildlife Area in Dolores and Montezuma counties.

Willow fire near Leadville

New mandatory evacuation orders were issued Sunday morning for the Willow fire burning in Lake County, according to the sheriff’s office.

The in Lake County included County Road 11, County Road 11A and the Lake Fork Trailer Park, sheriff’s officials said. :

• The Twin Lakes area
• The Pan-Ark Subdivision
• EE Hill
• Colorado 82 west to the summit of Independence Pass
• The Mount Elbert Forebay Reservoir
• U.S. 24 between milemarker 180 and milemarker 186
• County roads 10,Ěý 24D, 44, 45, 46 and 136
• Forest Service Road 130
• Valley Road
• Crystal Ridge Road
• Loop Road
• Stargazer Circle

As of Sunday, the was burning on an estimated 3,983 acres with 1% containment, according to fire officials. That’s just over 6 square miles.

“Active fire behavior” is expected Sunday, especially as thunderstorms bring strong winds into the area, according to an , which is leading the fire response.

The evacuation zone is bordered to the north by Lake County Road 9A, to the east by Lake County Road 25 and U.S. 24, to the south by Echo Creek and to the west by Twining Peak.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency authorized federal funding for the Willow fire on Sunday, according to Colorado Gov. Jared Polis. The governor declared a disaster emergency for the wildfire on Monday.

As of Sunday, more than 1,500 residents had been evacuated and an estimated 2,100 people remained on pre-evacuation orders, according to the governor’s office.

“This Federal Fire Management Assistance Grant will help our state take all necessary actions to protect Coloradans and communities,” Polis said in a statement. “Protecting lives, property, and businesses is our top priority.”

The federal funding will cover 75% of Colorado’s firefighting costs on the Willow fire, according to the governor’s office.

“I thank all the firefighters across the state who spent the holiday weekend bravely facing the flames to keep us safe,” Polis stated. “I remind Coloradans of our responsibility to be fire safe; we owe it to the firefighters putting themselves in harm’s way to prevent new fires from starting.”

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. Monday, according to the agency. That alert covers Alamosa, Chaffee, Custer, Delta, Dolores, Fremont, Gunnison, Hinsdale, La Plata, Lake, Mineral, Montezuma, Montrose, Ouray, Park, Pueblo, Rio Grande, 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, according to the agency. Those with heart disease and respiratory illnesses, young children and older adults are more at risk.

This is a developing story and may be updated.

The Aspen Acres fire in Custer and Pueblo counties charred 55,391 acres, or 86 square miles, as of Thursday evening and has likely destroyed more than 200 homes and buildings, Gov. Jared Polis said at a news conference on Thursday afternoon.

“If you care about our state, if you care about our firefighters, do not use fireworks or other types of flames this Fourth of July weekend,” Polis said. “We cannot handle another major incident in our state right now.”

National Weather Service forecasters issued a for dangerous fire weather throughout central, southern and western Colorado, where the forecast calls for humidity levels as low as 4%, wind gusts up to 35 mph and temperatures nearing triple digits.

Stan Hilkey, executive director of the Colorado Department of Public Safety, said he’s seen street signs melted to the ground by the Aspen Acres fire.

“These conditions are extreme, and they create dangerous fires,” he said.

Firefighting resources across Colorado are spread thin, Chief Mike Morgan, director of the Colorado Division of Fire Prevention and Control, said at the Thursday news conference. There are now 55 state and federal aircraft fighting fires across Colorado, including helicopters and large and single-engine air tankers.

Morgan’s biggest concern is new fires starting, he said.

“We are tapped out on resources and we’re trying to bring things in,” he said “Any time we get a new ignition, we’re probably going to divert an aircraft from another fire so we don’t have another 15,000-acre fire that we don’t have 1,000 firefighters and aircraft to put on.”

Fire officials identified the Aspen Acres fire as the No. 1 firefighting priority in the country earlier this week, and on Thursday morning a complex incident management team from Alaska took command of the wildfire.

The team ordered 100 additional fire engines that are heading to Colorado from California, Incident Commander Jake Livingston said. They also ordered 17 hand crews, six dozers and 15 water tenders.

Livingston said it¶¶Ňőap hard to predict when firefighters may gain any containment on the fire because of how fast it¶¶Ňőap growing every day. The biggest concern for fire crews right now is extreme weather, and their main focus is protecting life and property, he said.

Firefighters gained 10% containment on the 27,382-acre Ferris fire near Dolores on Thursday and increased containment to 65% on the deadly Snyder fire in Utah and Mesa County, which has burned 30,193 acres.

The 18,004-acre Gold Mountain fire near Ouray and the 2,355-acre Willow fire near Leadville are still burning with no containment, fire officials said.

Together, the five fires have consumed 133,325 acres, or 208 square miles, a slightly larger area than the city of Colorado Springs. The wildfires are threatening nearly 4,000 homes and structures, according to the

Mandatory evacuations remain in place for all but the Snyder fire, and U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management officials have closed public lands around all of the fires for public and firefighter safety. Updated closure and evacuation orders are available from local law enforcement agencies and may be posted on