The state’s largest wildfire, the , jumped in size overnight to 91,523 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.

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

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.

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 5,000 acres on Sunday, scorching a total of 47,780 acres — 75 square miles — by that evening, . At that time, the fire was estimated to be 21% 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. 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.

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:��Aspen Acres fire | Gold Mountain fire��|��Ferris 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 ,��according 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 line��to 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.��.

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:

• ��between Silver Cliff and Siloam Road west of Pueblo
• ��between the Fremont County line and Wetmore
• ��between McKenzie Junction and I-25
• ��between 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.��At 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,”��federal 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,�� 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.

With across many Western states, wildland firefighters gathered Sunday to pay tribute to three of their own who died after they were trapped by flames a week ago.

Emily Barker, Nick Hutcherson and Sydney Watson were remembered as courageous public servants who left a lasting where they worked.

“They showed up to make order out of chaos day after day with purpose, dedication and heart,” U.S. Wildland Fire Service Chief Brian Fennessy said during a memorial service in Grand Junction, Colorado, near where the firefighters on the Colorado-Utah border.

While that fire is now almost entirely contained, nearly 40 large fires are still going strong across the West. Most of the current fires are scattered around Colorado, Utah and New Mexico while there are wildfires in eight other states — from Alaska to Arizona.

Over the holiday weekend, more evacuations in Colorado were ordered across four counties where the Aspen Acres fire had burned about 136 square miles (352 square kilometers) south of Colorado Springs.

The fire had damaged or destroyed more than 200 structures as of Sunday, authorities said. National Guard soldiers were sent in Friday to help with staffing checkpoints on roads near the fire zone.

Months of dry weather and a this past winter in some places along with erratic winds have been fueling the fires.

The three firefighters killed on June 27 in western Colorado were that sometimes drops into remote areas by helicopters.

Barker, Hutcherson and Watson and two others who sustained burn injuries were overcome by flames from fast-moving fires in Mesa County. They had deployed , which are considered a “last resort” for firefighters when there is no other way out.

Fennessy, the Wildland Fire Service chief, said Sunday that “the weight of this tragedy is felt way beyond our wildland fire community.”

Photos of the firefighters were set up on the stage at the memorial service alongside flowers and flags.

They worked jobs that require courage, selflessness, strength and heart, said Sarah Fisher, the U.S. Forest Service’s deputy chief for fire and aviation management.

“The work demands long days, heavy burdens and quiet acts of bravery,” she said. “We will remember them, we will honor their legacy and we will carry their light forward.”

Emily Barker

Barker, 38, had so much spirit, and the people around her always strived to be a better person by her presence, said Sarah Brubeck Schnurbusch, a friend and former roommate.

Barker was from Clinton Township, Michigan, and liked hiking, skiing, dirt biking and playing hockey. She loved firefighting.

“I’ve never seen someone so excited to go to work,” Brubeck Schnurbusch said. She added that her friend helped pave the way for many women in the industry.

Barker was a trailblazer, first working as a teacher “shaping young lives,” Fennessy said.

“She didn’t just live in wild places, she helped to shape them, care for them and make them better,” he said.

Nick Hutcherson

Hutcherson, 27, served in the U.S. Navy and had plans to become a physical therapy doctor, according to the Kaibab National Forest in northern Arizona where he was assigned. He was also an active member of the Northern Arizona Deaf and American Sign Language community.

Hutcherson, who was from Glendale, Arizona, “embodied the spirit of public service” Fennessy said.

He was a dedicated practitioner of Muay Thai martial arts who trained in Flagstaff.

His favorite saying was “easy day,” Fennessy said, “because Nick had an uncommon ability to face hard things with optimism, humility and a smile.”

Sydney Watson

Watson, 27, was from Warrior, Alabama, and a graduate of the University of Tennessee Southern, where she was a pitcher on the softball team, the university said.

In 2023, she participated in a program in North Carolina organized by the Women-in-Fire Prescribed Fire Training Exchanges, the group said. In her application, she said she wanted to see more women on the fire line and to learn from other women in the field, the university said.

“From the time she was very young, she knew she wanted to be a firefighter someday,” Fennessy said.

“I have no doubt she inspired many young women to become a firefighter,” he said.

The Aspen Acres, Gold Mountain, Ferris and Willow fires have consumed about 246 square miles in Pueblo, Custer, Lake and Ouray counties. The Ferris fire held at 9% containment, and the Willow fire gained 1% containment on Saturday.

Although fire crews faced hot and dry conditions, cloud cover over parts of the state slightly tempered fire behavior, officials said.

The Aspen Acres fire is Colorado’s largest active wildfire and now the . Flames consumed an additional 21 square miles, or 13,605 acres, overnight Friday and into Saturday. It had charred 86,982 acres, or 136 square miles, as of Saturday afternoon with no containment.

The fire’s size is just behind the 2012 High Park fire, which burned 87,284 acres in Larimer County west of Fort Collins. That fire destroyed 259 homes and killed one person.

There are more than 2,200 firefighters and personnel responding to the four wildfires with more on the way, fire officials said Saturday.

“We’re getting almost double what we asked for,” Operations Section Chief Brad Washa said in a Saturday afternoon update on the Aspen Acres fire. Some of those resources are coming in from out of state, and some are being reassigned from other Colorado fires, he said.

The Aspen Acres fire likely has destroyed more than 200 homes, but county officials can’t access newly burned areas, including Colorado City and Lake Isabel.

Fire crews managed to save the popular tourist attraction from being destroyed, fire spokesperson Al Nash said Saturday afternoon.

YMCA of Pueblo’s – which closed in 2025 because of rising operating costs – had fire burning on multiple sides of the property but is still standing, Washa said.

Although there’s a chance of afternoon thunderstorms over the fire in coming days, those storms also may bring convection that can develop into gusty winds, said Makoto Moore, lead meteorologist at the National Weather Service Pueblo’s office.

Winds have calmed down over the Ferris fire near Dolores, but that presents its own challenges, Operations Section Chief Toby Cook said in a Saturday update.

“It����ap stopped pushing the fire real hard with wind, but we have a lot less instability in the atmosphere. And that (fire) column is able to get a lot higher. And it sucks a lot of air in and creates more energy,” he said.

Ferris fire officials have ordered a complex incident management team to help with management and logistics, team leaders said in an update. The fire burned across an additional 8 square miles Friday night and into Saturday and has burned 41,336 acres, or 65 square miles, as of Saturday afternoon.

Fire crews saw “significant growth” as flames burned through the San Juan National Forest near Dolores, Cook said. The fire crossed over the Dolores River and burned up the canyon side along the western edge, while flames pushed north around the Glade Ranch subdivision and Benchmark Lookout, Cook said.

Firefighters are focused on stopping the fire from moving toward more homes and scouting containment lines to keep it in check, Cook said.

Thousands of Coloradans are still displaced by mandatory evacuations in all four fires, including the Gold Mountain fire, burning north of Ouray.

The Gold Mountain fire grew by 7 square miles on Friday and Saturday and has burned 25,919 acres or 41 square miles with no containment. U.S. 550 is closed between Ridgway and Ouray because of the fire, and detours are in place.

“Over the coming days, the fire has the potential to burn through the Owl Creek saddle and burn into Owl Creek Pass moving north toward Silver Jack Reservoir,” fire officials said Saturday. “Movement north may be slow if north winds develop.”

To the northeast, crews fighting the Willow fire near Leadville managed to secure 1% containment on the wildfire burning near Turquoise Lake.

The Willow fire has burned 3,090 acres, or 5 square miles, and “remains active in steep, rugged terrain west of Leadville, with fire behavior driven by critically dry fuels and afternoon winds,” officials said.

“It’s going to be a very active day today,” Toby Cook, operations section chief on the Ferris fire near Dolores, said in a Saturday morning update. “I’m sure we’ll see a lot of fire behavior again today, it’s just the weather conditions we’re given right now.”

The popular tourist attraction Bishop Castle in Rye is still standing, Alaska Complex Incident Management Team spokesperson Al Nash said Saturday afternoon.

Fire officials said on Friday the flames from the Aspen Acres fire had come within 200 yards of the hand-built stone structure. Nash said he hopes to have a photo of the building to share soon.

The Aspen Acres, Gold Mountain, Ferris and Willow fires have now consumed roughly 246 square miles in Pueblo, Custer, Lake and Ouray counties. The Ferris fire is 9% contained and the Willow fire is 1% contained as of Saturday evening.

Thousands of Coloradans remain under mandatory evacuation orders and the fires have destroyed an estimated 200 homes.

Fire crews secured 95% containment on the Snyder fire on Friday night, which has burned 30,202 acres, or 47 square miles, west of Grand Junction after it sparked on June 27.

Jump to:��Aspen Acres fire |��Gold Mountain fire��|��Ferris fire | Willow fire | Air quality alerts

Aspen Acres fire in Custer and Pueblo counties

Colorado’s largest active wildfire consumed more than 13,605 acres as hundreds more firefighters arrived in Pueblo and Custer counties to try to slow the fire’s spread.

The Aspen Acres fire roared across another 21 square miles late Friday night and Saturday and has now burned 86,982 acres, or 136 square miles.

It is the eighth largest wildfire in Colorado history, just behind the 2012 High Park fire, which burned 87,284 acres in Larimer County west of Fort Collins. That fire destroyed 259 homes and killed one person.

While cloud cover and higher humidity calmed the fire in some spots overnight, areas near “remained active overnight, with the fire continuing to advance and impact structures,” fire officials wrote.

The Aspen Acres fire has likely destroyed more than 200 homes, but the fire conditions have stopped damage assessment teams from accessing some areas to get a clearer picture, Pueblo County officials said.

While Saturday started off with slightly more humidity and some cloud cover, afternoon thunderstorms will increase the chance of lightning and wind gusts up to 55 mph, officials said in a morning update.

Thousands of people are still under evacuation orders in Pueblo and Custer counties, and pre-evacuation warnings are in place in Fremont and Huerfano counties. More than 300 firefighters arrived at the wildfire on Friday and more are expected to check in on Saturday, fire officials said.

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 line��to 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. is available 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.

as of Saturday 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 I-25
• between Colorado 165 and Rock Creek Road west of Pueblo

Northbound Colorado 67 and Colorado 96 are open for people evacuating Wetmore but closed to all other traffic, CDOT officials said. I-25 is open as of 11 a.m. Saturday but may close between Pueblo and Walsenburg because of fire activity, state officials said.

The wildfire was reported as a spot fire near the Aspen Acres campground shortly before 6 a.m. Monday.

Officials with the U.S. Forest Service and the Colorado Department of Public Safety are investigating the cause of the fire, according to the Custer County Sheriff’s Office.

Gold Mountain fire near Ouray

The northeast of Ouray burned across another 7 square miles overnight and has now charred 25,919 acres with no containment, fire officials said Saturday morning.

More than 600 firefighters are now fighting the wildfire, which has consumed 41 square miles since it sparked on June 27. The cause is under investigation.

, and drivers must detour on Ouray County Road 23 and County Road 3A, according to CDOT. Drivers should avoid off-road detours or unpaved shortcuts suggested by map apps, as those routes can be dangerous and unsuitable for passenger and commercial vehicles, state officials said.

Mandatory evacuation orders are still 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 10, to the north by Martin Creek, to the east by Lou Creek Pass and to the south by Baldy Peak and the wildfire.

Federal officials also ordered closures on and the

Pre-evacuation orders are also active for southwest Gunnison County, along Coal Creek and the Cimarron Ridge.

An evacuation shelter was opened at the Ridgway Secondary School, 1200 Green St., according to county officials.

Ferris fire in San Juan National Forest, near Dolores

Fire crews saw “significant growth” on the Ferris fire burning in the San Juan National Forest near Dolores as flames charred nearly 8 square miles.

The wildfire has now burned 41,336 acres or 65 square miles, since it started as three separate lightning-sparked fires on June 27. Firefighters have contained 9% of the fire line.

Flames crossed west over the Dolores River and made a push up the canyon and onto the rim, Operations Section Chief Toby Cook said in an update Saturday morning. The wildfire also crossed a series of power lines that bridge the canyon.

The eastern flank of the fire also made a significant push north, but fire crews were able to protect the Glade Ranch subdivision and Benchmark Lookout, Cook said.

Firefighters are focused on stopping the fire from moving toward more homes and scouting containment lines to keep the fire in check, Cook said.

Mandatory evacuations are active 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, . The 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,”��federal officials said.

Colorado Parks and Wildlife has closed public access to the Lone Dome State Wildlife Area in Dolores and Montezuma counties, according to a news release from the agency.

Willow fire near Leadville

Lake County officials sent out pre-evacuation warnings for another 178 homes on Friday night as the near Leadville burned another square mile.

The fire has consumed 3.090 acres west of Leadville, near Turquoise Lake, with no containment.

The pre-evacuation warning caused some confusion when it was shared by the app Watch Duty on Friday night, said on Saturday morning. County officials are communicating with the app organizers and will send out community messages before updating evacuation maps moving forward.

and forest closures are still in place near Turquoise Lake, with borders of Galena Mountain to the north, Leadville to the east, South Willow Creek to the south, Hagerman Pass to the west, according to the Lake County evacuation map. The Leadville area and homes north of the fire along U.S. 24 are on pre-evacuation status.

Portions of the are also closed because of the fire, with rough boundaries of Eagle County to the north, Leadville and Willow Creek to the east, Halfmoon Creek to the south and Pitkin County to the west.

Air quality alerts

Wildfire smoke will continue making air quality worse across Colorado on Saturday, according to the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment.

An is active for Alamosa, Chaffee, Custer, Delta, Dolores, Fremont, Gunnison, Hinsdale, Mineral, Montrose, Pueblo, Ouray, Rio Grande, Saguache, San Juan and San Miguel counties.

Thousands of Coloradans have been displaced by wildfires burning across the state, with the roaring across 28 square miles in less than a day, making it the eighth-largest wildfire in Colorado history.

The Aspen Acres fire, which is , grew from 55,391 acres, or 87 square miles, on Thursday night to 73,377 acres, or 115 square miles, on Friday afternoon. It’s burning with no containment and is now twice the size of Fort Collins.

Under normal conditions, wildfires tend to calm down at night thanks to cooler temperatures and higher humidity, Alaska Complex Incident Management Team spokesperson Al Nash said.

“We really didn’t see that until close to dawn today,” Nash said Friday morning.

The fire made two big runs around midnight and 4 a.m. and burned into the community of Colorado City, near Interstate 25 south of Pueblo, forcing residents to evacuate in the middle of the night. County officials were not able to assess the damage on Friday because of the fire conditions, Pueblo County Sheriff David Lucero said at an afternoon briefing.

The fire is burning within 200 yards of Bishop’s Castle, a popular tourist attraction, Custer County Sheriff Rich Smith said. More than 3,800 addresses are still under .

Custer County also ordered more mandatory evacuations in Wetmore on Friday afternoon, describing the fire as “unpredictable and constantly changing.”

The fire is still about 12 miles away from Pueblo city limits, Lucero said.

“They are not on a pre-evacuation notice, but we have seen some things I’ve never seen in 26 years in law enforcement with the behavior of this fire,” Lucero said. “You should have a plan, and you should be prepared if that call does come.”

Firefighters are still focused on protecting homes and infrastructure from the fire, Incident Commander Jake Livingston said.

Wildfires near Ouray, Dolores and Leadville also grew Friday.

The near Dolores grew by more than 6,000 acres, or 9 square miles, and has consumed 33,428 acres, or 52 square miles, since it started burning June 27. Containment dropped slightly Friday, from 10% to 9%, as the fire pushed toward the Benchmark Lookout, fire officials said.

To the north in Ouray County, the Gold Mountain fire grew by 6 square miles Friday and has burned 21,789 acres, or 34 square miles with no containment. Mandatory evacuations and forest closures are still active around the wildfire, which is threatening an estimated 2,602 homes, according to the National Interagency Fire Center.

To the east, the Willow fire near Leadville grew by about 200 acres and had consumed 2,541 acres, or 4 square miles, with no containment as of Friday evening. Mandatory evacuations are still active around the fire, including in the Turquoise Lake area, and Lake County officials ordered more evacuations south of the fire late Friday.

Near the Utah state line, fire crews gained 95% containment on the by Friday evening, up from 65% containment on Thursday night, fire officials confirmed. The fire did not grow overnight and has burned 30,191 acres, or 47 square miles, in Utah and Mesa County.

Firefighters Emily Barker, Nick Hutcherson and Sydney Watson were killed while fighting the fire last week, and a public memorial service is set for 11 a.m. Sunday at the amphitheater in Grand Junction’s Las Colonias Park, 925 Struthers Ave. The service will be livestreamed online at

The burning in southern Colorado consumed another 27 square miles overnight and into Friday afternoon, forcing more evacuations and making it the eighth .

Firefighters across Colorado expect to face extreme fire conditions today as hot weather, single-digit humidity and wind makes wildfires more dangerous, officials said in Friday morning updates.

The Custer County Sheriff’s Office announced just before noon and told residents to leave immediately.

“This fire is unpredictable and constantly changing,” sheriff’s officials said.

The Pueblo County Sheriff’s Office ordered new shortly before 1 a.m., including west of Interstate 25 between Huerfano County and Burnt Mill Road, west Hatchett Ranch and Burnt Mill Road. Mandatory evacuations remain in Ouray, Lake, Dolores, Pueblo and Custer counties.

Emergency management officials southwest Colorado also ordered more mandatory evacuations for the Ferris fire after activity picked up Friday afternoon, including the area east of Montezuma County Road 16.

Together, the Aspen Acres, Gold Mountain, Snyder, Ferris and Willow fires have charred 157,652 acres — more than 246 square miles — as of Friday afternoon.

Jump to:��Aspen Acres fire |��Gold Mountain fire��|��Ferris fire | Willow fire��| Snyder fire | Air quality alerts

Aspen Acres fire in Custer and Pueblo counties

Pueblo County residents near Colorado City and Wetmore were forced to evacuate on Friday as the Aspen Acres fire raced across 27 square miles in less than a day.

Firefighters faced “extreme fire behavior” as the fire ran into Colorado City, up Table Mountain and to Bondurant Road, the Alaska Complex Incident Management Team said in an 8 a.m. update. Flames have consumed 73,366 acres, or 115 square miles, with no containment as of Friday afternoon.

Pueblo County officials have not released information about damage caused by the fire overnight, but the fire officials said Colorado City was impacted and crews are working ahead of the flames to try to protect homes.

“Under what would pass for normal circumstances, we would expect temps to drop, relative humidity to go up and fire behavior to moderate overnight,” incident command team spokesperson Al Nash said. “We really didn’t see that until close to dawn today.”

Fire officials have had reports of visibility as low as a half mile along I-25, Nash said.

Sections of Lake Pueblo are closed to boaters so aircraft can scoop water for firefighting and may change throughout the day as the winds change.

“Interfering with operations will cause the aircraft to stop their suppression efforts. There is not another suitable body of water nearby for these aircraft to work out of,” fire officials said.

More than 10,000 people are now under mandatory evacuation orders in Pueblo and Custer counties because of the fire, including homes near Lake Pueblo State Park to the north, I-25 to the west and the county line to the south, according to the sheriff’s office.

Areas under mandatory evacuation include:

• Wetmore to Fremont County and Pueblo, closing Colorado 96
• Colorado City: West of Interstate 25 between Huerfano County and Burnt Mill Road, west Hatchett Ranch and Burnt Mill Road.
• Red Creek Ranch: North of Colorado 78 and south of Colorado 96, west of Siloam Road and east to the Red Creek Springs area
• The North Creek area from Central Road to the Custer County Line
  Aspen Acres subdivision
• Property on 12 Mile Road
• South Pine Drive
• Beulah
• Rye
• San Isabel Lake
• Bishop Castle

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 Friday 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 South Crow Cutoff
• between Colorado 165 and Rock Creek Road west of Pueblo

Northbound Colorado 67 and Colorado 96 are open for people evacuating Wetmore but closed to all other traffic, CDOT officials said.

The wildfire was reported as a spot fire near the Aspen Acres campground shortly before 6 a.m. Monday.

Officials with the U.S. Forest Service and the Colorado Department of Public Safety are investigating the cause of the fire, according to the Custer County Sheriff’s Office.

Gold Mountain fire near Ouray

The northeast of Ouray burned another 5 square miles as winds pushed the fire east toward the Cow Creek drainage and west toward Cutler Creek and Baldy Peak above U.S. 550, according to fire officials.

Flames have consumed 21,031 acres, or nearly 33 square miles, since it sparked Saturday, and crews expect fire behavior to range from very active to extreme fire behavior on Friday afternoon amid warm temperatures, low humidity and wind. There is no containment on the fire.

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

The southern evacuation zone included Lake Lenore and was 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 10, to the north by Cow and Deer creeks, to the east by Lou Creek Pass and to the south by Bald Peak and the wildfire.

Pre-evacuation orders were also issued for southwest Gunnison County, along Coal Creek and the Cimarron Ridge, according to the map.

An evacuation shelter was opened at the Ridgway Secondary School, 1200 Green St., according to county officials.

Ferris fire in San Juan National Forest, near Dolores

Firefighters held containment on the Ferris fire, burning on 48 square miles of near Dolores in southwest Colorado, at 10% overnight.

Flames continue backing down into Doe Canyon and other canyons but has not yet reached the Dolores River, fire officials said in an . Crews are focused on protecting homes and power infrastructure and have been able to save Benchmark Lookout.

Fire officials expect two to arrive Friday to deliver water from McPhee Reservoir to the fire, the incident management team said in an update on Facebook. The planes can scoop up more than 1,600 gallons of water in 12 seconds to drop over hot spots and suppress flames.

The Ferris fire, which started Saturday as three separate fires north of Dolores in southwestern Colorado’s San Juan National Forest, has consumed 30,706 acres as of Friday morning, which is larger than Grand Junction.

Mandatory evacuations are active 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, . The 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,”��federal officials said.

Colorado Parks and Wildlife on Tuesday cut off public access to the Lone Dome State Wildlife Area in Dolores and Montezuma counties, according to a news release from the agency. As fire conditions continue to change, further closures may be put into place for public safety and to support firefighting efforts, wildlife officials said.

Willow fire near Leadville

Firefighters kept the�� near Leadville from growing overnight and crews are focused on protecting structures near Turquoise Lake and to the east, officials said Friday morning.

The fire has burned 2,355 acres, or about 4 square miles, of lodgepole pine and conifer with no containment since it sparked Sunday afternoon.

are still in place near Turquoise Lake, with borders of Rock Creek to the south, Hagerman Pass to the west, Galena Mountain to the north and Leadville to the east, according to the Lake County evacuation map. The Leadville area and homes north of the fire along U.S. 24 are on pre-evacuation status.

Portions of the are also closed because of the fire.

Snyder fire in Mesa County and Utah

More than half of the Snyder fire is now contained and firefighters kept wildfire growth to an acre overnight in Mesa County, fire officials said Friday morning.

The had burned 30,194 acres and is 65%, up from 49% containment on Wednesday, according to the Rocky Mountain Complex Incident Management Team in charge. That’s roughly 47 square miles and nearly the size of , which operates on 34,000 acres.

Containment doesn’t mean the fire is fully extinguished, but that crews have managed to secure a control line around a section of the fire’s perimeter. If firefighters construct a fire line around the fire’s entire perimeter, the blaze is considered 100% contained. Crews then remain in the area to extinguish hot spots and ensure the containment holds.

The Snyder fire is the result of Utah’s Snyder Mesa and Jones fires merging and moving into western Colorado, consuming the Western Slope’s Knowles and Gore fires. The flames overtook a group of firefighters responding to the Mesa County fires, killing firefighters Emily Barker, Nick Hutcherson and Sydney Watson.

3 wildland firefighters killed in western Colorado identified

A public memorial for the three firefighters is set for 11 a.m. Sunday at the amphitheater in Grand Junction's Las Colonias Park, 925 Struthers Ave. The service will be livestreamed .

Air quality alerts

Wildfire smoke will continue making air quality worse across Colorado on Friday, and the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment issued multiple alerts for the Front Range and Western Slope.

Fine particulates will likely reach levels that are in the Denver metro, Colorado Springs, Grand Junction, Pueblo, Aspen and Telluride on Friday, state officials said.

An air quality health advisory for wildfire smoke is active for Chaffee, Clear Creek, Crowley, Custer, Delta, Dolores, Eagle, El Paso ,Fremont, Garfield, Gilpin, Grand, Gunnison, Lake, Mesa, Montrose, Otero, Ouray, Park, Pitkin, Pueblo, Saguache, San Miguel, Summit and Teller counties.

Air pollution from wildfires burning across the state and the Front Range’s typical summer ground-level ozone problem will be intensified, experts say, as cities, sports teams and families launch pyrotechnics over the long holiday weekend.

The warns that breathing the fine particulate matter and chemicals released by exploding fireworks can exacerbate symptoms for people who suffer from asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

“It����ap a time for fun, right? We want people to enjoy themselves and have fun,” said Nick Torres, the lung association’s advocacy director in Colorado. “But fireworks are a contributor to poor air quality.”

Some Colorado cities and counties, including Colorado Springs, Pueblo and Highlands Ranch, have canceled this weekend’s fireworks shows as wildfires rage, and cities such as Denver have replaced them with drone shows because of the high fire risk.

Many cities have prohibited individuals from shooting them off themselves, although those bans are often ignored and loosely enforced. And those smaller backyard fireworks can be just as damaging to air quality.

When fireworks explode, they emit fine airborne particles that can be inhaled and enter the bloodstream. Along with particulate matter, known as PM2.5, fireworks also release chemicals that are used to create loud noises and vivid colors. Gases and heavy metals can hang for hours after the brilliant plumes of red, white and blue have faded.

Gases from fireworks include sulfur dioxide, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxide, and the heavy metals include barium, copper, cadmium and aluminum.

A massive Fourth of July fireworks display planned for the National Mall in Washington, D.C., will involve 850,000 fireworks in a 40-minute show and will create unhealthy conditions in the nation’s capital, , which obtained internal documents from the .

A park service analysis of the anticipated air quality impacts from that fireworks display determined it will cause “very unhealthy” conditions and stated that people should avoid prolonged exposure around the Mall and central D.C., the newspaper reported.

A 2015 study in the scientific journal found that concentrations of fine particulate matter were elevated on the evening of July 4 and the morning of July 5 at 315 monitoring sites in the United States. On average nationally, particulate matter levels rose 42% during the 24 hours surrounding the holiday, and a site adjacent to a fireworks show can have particulate matter levels three times higher than normal.

In Colorado, a team of meteorologists who track weather patterns in Boulder determined that the city’s 2019 decision to cancel its annual July 4 fireworks show at Folsom Field led to lower air pollution levels on the holiday compared to neighboring cities that shot off fireworks, according to the report. The city has not held a fireworks show since.

The meteorologists monitored air quality indexes for Boulder, Longmont, Broomfield and Denver and found that while Boulder had a slight uptick in air pollution around July 4, the other cities more than doubled their levels. They accounted for weather patterns in each city, the BoulderCast report stated.

An below 50 is considered good.��In 2025, Boulder’s air quality index for PM2.5 peaked at 70, largely due to residents who bought fireworks in Wyoming and shot them in their backyards. The index level dropped around 1 a.m.

“Particulates remaining in the air until 1 a.m. would suggest people continued to launch fireworks well into the night, or could be some influence from the topography of Boulder Valley slowing the clear out,” the report said.

Meanwhile, Longmont’s air quality index peaked between 120 and 170 around 10 p.m. when the city’s fireworks show ended. Air quality levels dropped to normal by 11 p.m. Broomfield’s air monitoring stations showed peaks of 140 between 9:30 p.m. and 10 p.m., when that city’s fireworks show took place, and air quality levels returned to regular levels by midnight.

In Denver, fireworks set off by residents likely caused high air pollution levels because the only large-scale display in the city was a 15-minute show hosted by the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field.��But the city’s air quality monitors showed a rise in particulates between 9 p.m. and 1 a.m., with sites averaging a peak of 145, BoulderCast reported.

“This suggests that citizen fireworks, and the air blowing in from upstream cities, polluted Denver substantially for several hours,” the report stated.

Ben Castellani, a BoulderCast co-founder and lead meteorologist, said he expects the air quality indexes to peak even higher this year because wildfire smoke has already elevated those numbers at monitoring stations across the Front Range.

“This year I will expect it to be worse of a peak, but not stick around any longer,” Castellani said.

Experts said the pollution from fireworks does not cause long-term health effects because the celebrations are short-lived. But the brief, intense emissions can make some people sick.

“It����ap not that great of a danger, but some of the chemicals and metals in fireworks are more dangerous than what’s in the wildfire smoke,” Castellani said.

On Thursday, the issued health advisories for much of the state because of the smoke. The health department warned that people who suffer from respiratory or heart diseases, along with the very young and elderly, should stay indoors. Those advisories are in effect at least until 9 a.m. Friday.

Those advisories are expected to continue through the weekend as hot, stagnant weather sets in, said Mike Silverstein, executive director of the , which helps establish policy to reduce the region’s air pollution.

The air quality council is predicting a�� because of the hot weather.

“Fireworks is another emissions category just like vehicles or industrial emissions,” Silverstein said. “It just exacerbates our air pollution problem.”

The nine-county Front Range region��violates��federal air quality standards, leading the to impose tighter regulations, including a requirement that motorists buy a more expensive blend of gasoline that burns cleaner.

The region struggles with ground-level ozone pollution, which is most problematic during the hot months between mid-May and early September. Volatile organic compounds and nitrogen oxides — chemicals released by burning fossil fuels — cook in the sun, forming a blanket that traps heat along the Front Range.

Adding fireworks to the wildfire smoke and the ground-level ozone can make for a dirty, unhealthy holiday.

Torres recommends that people who suffer from lung diseases stay downwind of fireworks displays or watch them inside through windows or via television broadcasts.

“Stay indoors and curl up with your pets, who probably aren’t enjoying fireworks either,” he said.

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����ap hard to predict when firefighters may gain any containment on the fire because of how fast it����ap 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

Five firefighters battling a fast-moving in Colorado were forced to deploy their fire shelters when they couldn’t escape the flames. were overcome and died, while two were injured and hospitalized.

Fire shelters are mandatory equipment for crews who work across rugged terrain where things can change at a moment����ap notice, especially when and windy weather drives the flames, as happened last Saturday.

Fire shelters have saved hundreds of lives over the years, but officials caution that the equipment doesn’t guarantee protection in every scenario. Instead, the focus is on having well-defined escape and safety zones.

“Ideally they’re trying to escape and avoid that entrapment,” said Shawn Steber with the U.S. Forest Service’s National Technology and Development Program in Montana. “But if it comes down to it and it����ap their last kind of thing they can bring out for their protection, then yes, in that sense it is kind of that last line of defense.”

Fire shelters are made of multiple layers

Crafted from aluminum foil, silica fabric and fiberglass, fire shelters are designed to protect users from the intense heat of flames and to trap breathable air inside as a fire passes. Inhaling hot gases from a fire can damage the airway and lungs.

The ability of a fire shelter to withstand heat depends on how long its materials are exposed to heat and other factors, Steber said.

The one-time-use shelters have been improved occasionally. A recent change made the shelters stand up better when deployed, said John Montrastelle, a sales manager with Anchor Industries, a maker of fire shelters.

“Whenever there’s an incident, a loss of life, there’s more discussion and more talk about a better shelter, a better fire shelter, something that will protect the firefighter in higher temperatures,” he said.

Other modifications include a one-piece floor, improved hold-down handles and reduced bulk, Steber said.

Fire shelters weigh around 6 pounds and are folded up inside several protective layers in a firefighter’s pack. Moisture, sand, debris and rough use can damage them.

Using a shelter takes training

Wildland firefighters have been required to carry fire shelters for decades. Training typically occurs once a year, often during a hike or while practicing digging a fire line. It����ap also part of training for cadets hired by local firefighting agencies.

Firefighters are trained to set up their shelters within 30 seconds or less and as early as possible when needed, Steber said.

“We try to teach people ‘within 30 seconds or less,’ but also at the same time, ‘deploy as early as possible,’” Steber said.

The nature of the fire determines how long a shelter user stays inside, whether the fire flashes over them or stays put, Montrastelle said. They can also be used in the event of a freak storm that might drop hail or snow.

When considering escape, reminds firefighters that they can hold their breath for only about 15 seconds while running through flames or superheated air and need to get on the ground before the flames arrive.

A fire shelter is deployed by removing it from the bag or casing protecting it, shaking it to expand it outward, climbing inside and holding it down with your arms, knees and feet to keep out flames and hot air.

“No matter how bad it gets inside, it is usually much worse outside,” the guidance states. “If you panic and leave the shelter, one breath of hot, toxic gases could damage your lungs. Suffocation may follow.”

Shelter use is rare

From 2021 to 2025, four shelter deployments occurred, including two last year and none in 2022 or 2023, according to statistics available from the National Wildfire Coordinating Group. In 2020, 30 deployments occurred, almost all in California.

The recent lower numbers are likely due to a variety of factors, including the nature of fire seasons, including the number of large fires requiring the use of fire shelters, Steber said.

In 2013, 19 firefighters died in the in Arizona. Firefighters were deploying their shelters when flames overtook them in a steep canyon. It was nearly a decade earlier that perished in the South Canyon Fire in Colorado.

Other firefighters have survived in shelters. During the in Washington, two crew members used shelters, but three others died in a truck.

A full investigation lasting months will unfold into the circumstances around the three firefighters’ deaths last weekend.

Montrastelle said he hopes studies of the tragedy will result in teachable information for what fire crews should look for when fighting a fire.

“It����ap a combination of events that led to somebody deploying, because they’re split-second decisions that are being made,” he said.

Dura reported from Bismarck, North Dakota. AP writer Susan Montoya Bryan in Albuquerque, New Mexico, contributed.