The Aspen Acres fire has destroyed 263 homes and four commercial buildings in Pueblo County and Custer counties, officials said Monday afternoon.
Authorities are notifying residents directly if their home was destroyed, but in some areas, damage assessment teams still cannot safely enter burned neighborhoods.
Drones have flown over some of the hardest-hit areas, including Beulah and North Creek area, and officials hope to release that footage “as soon as possible,” Pueblo County Sheriff Dave Lucero said Monday, while cautioning that it will take time before residents of those areas can safely return.
Footage follows the fire’s uneven path of destruction, showing where flames came right up to one home that remained standing while the house next door was completely destroyed, Lucero said.
“We know people want to know if their home was destroyed and it’s frustrating because we can’t in some of those areas get to their house to give them that answer,” Lucero said.
Seventy-eight homes were destroyed in Custer County, Custer County Sheriff Rich Smith said. In addition, one other home had major damage, four had minor damage and one was “partially affected.”
There have been no serious injuries among firefighters or the public, but officials recognized the mental toll the fire has played for evacuees. Two mental health clinicians are available for anyone who needs help, Smith said.
“We track 911 calls for people who are in crisis and those numbers have gone up,” Smith said. “I just want to reach out to all the people who evacuated — this is a stressful time. It’s hot and dry and windy and if you feel you need to talk, you can call 288, which is a hotline to get someone in touch with you right away.”
The updated count of homes destroyed came as some residents were allowed to return to their homes in Pueblo County, but should be ready to leave if the fire activity changes.
As of Monday afternoon, 11,600 residents in Pueblo, Custer and Fremont counties were still under mandatory evacuations, officials said.
The fire still has potential for large growth in the northern and western side of the fire, Jake Livingston, incident commander with the Alaska Complex Incident Incident Management Team No. 1, said Monday afternoon.
More than 1,300 people are assigned to the Aspen Acres fire southwest of Pueblo on Monday after strong winds from thunderstorms drove the wildfire roughly 2,000 acres farther north Sunday.
At 91,523 acres, the fire continues to rise in the ranks of Colorado’s largest recorded wildfires — as of Monday morning, it ranked the seventh largest. Containment dropped to 12%, down from 14%, federal fire officials said.
As the fire pushed toward the communities of Greenwood and Wetmore, firefighters worked through the night to protect structures and were successful in building a fireline around Greenwood, federal fire officials said in a morning update. Crews also completed a bulldozer-built firebreak in the rugged terrain south of Wetmore.
Elsewhere on the fire, firefighters made progress despite erratic winds, but another round of gusty, shifting winds is expected Monday afternoon as thunderstorms move through the area.
Officials have said the fire was human-caused but have released no further details or described its point of origin. More than 180 structures have been destroyed, including at least 55 homes in Custer County.
The fire started in Custer County and quickly spread into Pueblo County as high winds fueled days of rapid growth.
More than 500 firefighters are fighting the Ferris fire near Dolores that scorched 47,780 acres as of Monday morning. Crews used controlled fires to burn along the rim of the Dolores Canyon, a strategy that fire officials say aims to prevent significant impacts to critical infrastructure and private property, if and when, the fire moves out of the lower canyon.
On the northeastern side of the fire, firefighters built firelines around Forest Road 240 west of Ryman Creek to keep the fire out of Glade Ranch subdivision.
Containment jumped to 21%, up from 7% Sunday evening. Most of that progress was made from the firelines built on the southern and eastern edges of the fire, officials said.
“While any increase in containment is a positive, the uncontained portions of the fire still have tremendous potential for growth,” officials with the San Juan National Forest said in a morning update on the fire’s Facebook page.
Nearby thunderstorms will likely bring winds to the area Monday, but not directly over the fire. The outflow winds from passing storms are likely to fan fire behavior and increase smoke productions and control challenges, officials said.
The Gold Mountain fire burning near Ouray showed no growth overnight and was estimated at 27,698 acres and 3% contained as of Monday morning.
Using drones, hand crews and a helicopter, crews started fires along the rugged terrain on the northwestern side of the fire to help control the fire and connect firelines, Jeramy Dietz, operations section chief for Rocky Mountain complex incident management Team 3, said in a Monday briefing.
“We were able to control the tempo of the fire on our terms versus having the fire chase us down to that line,” Dietz said.
Progress was made on the southern side of the fire, and officials hope to boost containment in the next few days to prevent fire from expanding into Bridalveil Creek.
As of Monday, 824 people were assigned to the fire and will be working on the fire 24/7.
The Willow fire burning near Leadville grew another 180 acres and was estimated to have burned 4,143 acres as of Monday morning. The fire is 1% contained.
Crews are proactively burning areas near power lines north of the fire to reduce fuels, fire officials said. Xcel Energy temporarily shut off power and gas to the area Sunday to ensure firefighter safety as crews worked.
On the northwestern flank of the fire, firefighters are triaging structures while ensuring containment lines built around spot fires over the weekend continue to hold. Crews will also continue firing operations south of the Leadville National Fish Hatchery on Monday.
Aerial resources continue to support firefighters on the ground with an average of 30,000 gallons of water being dropped on the fire every day.
Teams dedicated to extinguishing fires as soon as possible after they ignite are ready to tackle any new fires in the area near the Willow fire, officials said.
Crews are holding the Snyder fire steady at 30,202 acres. As of Monday morning, the fire was estimated at 95% contained, up from 65% on Friday.
All evacuations and pre-evacuations from the fire on the Colorado-Utah border were lifted as of Thursday.
The fire previously merged with the Jones fire and later overtook the Knowles and Gore fire. Firefighters Emily Barker, Nick Hutcherson and Sydney Watson were killed June 27 while fighting the Knowles fire.
This is a developing story that will be updated.
Type of Story: News
Based on facts, either observed and verified directly by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.
