The Aspen Acres fire has destroyed more than 250 homes in Pueblo County, according to an update Friday afternoon.
Damage assessment teams have evaluated 661 homes in the fire perimeter and determined 254 razed homes in Pueblo County.
“Behind every one of those numbers is a family, cherished memories and a lifetime of hard work,” Pueblo County Sheriff David Lucero said during a press conference. “Our hearts go out to every person who has suffered such a devastating loss.”
Brad Washa, operations section chief on the Aspen Acres fire, said in a briefing Friday morning that 851 structures have been confirmed burned by the fire, while noting the sheriff’s office usually releases such information. A spokesperson for the Pueblo County Sheriff’s Office did not immediately return a message seeking more information Friday.
Lucero, who did not address the difference in numbers at the news conference, said deputies, command staff and other Pueblo County staff have been personally notifying residents whose homes are total losses. Vexcel Data, a private company that surveyed the fire area from the air, separately found the blaze has destroyed roughly 780 structures across Pueblo and Custer counties, a tally that includes garages, barns and other outbuildings in addition to homes.
Crews working the fire, Colorado’s largest active wildfire, doubled containment to 28% Friday, extending the containment line from north of Highway 78 to west of Rye, according to a Friday morning update.
About 1,900 people have joined the fight against the wildfire in Custer and Pueblo counties, which now stretches 97,083 acres, up from 96,121 acres on Thursday.
No deaths or injuries among residents have been reported. Two firefighters were injured this week, officials said Friday, one “blew out his knee” and another was treated for dehydration.
Response teams have relied on more than 130 fire engines, 26 bulldozers, 22 water tenders and more than 15 aircraft dispersed across the fire.
After progress in containing parts of the fire, including on the eastern border and the perimeter near Rye and Colorado City, firefighters are moving from lower elevations to higher points with more challenging terrain.
The Pueblo County Sheriff’s Office on Friday began lifting evacuation and preevacuation orders. Officials also transition evacuation orders in portions of southern Pueblo County into pre-evacuation zones, meaning residents should be vigilant and ready to leave again if the fire shifts.
Homeowners returning to preevacuation zones in southern Pueblo County must bring a reentry card from the Disaster Assistance Center.
Meanwhile, evacuation orders are still active for Rye and Beulah.
“We know those residents are anxious to return home,” Lucero said. “We understand how difficult and stressful this situation has been for you and for your families. Please know that our highest priority is your safety. Before we lift any additional evacuations, we must be confident that fire conditions have stabilized and that it is safe for the residents to return.”
Despite the progress, the Custer County Sheriff’s Office ramped up fire prevention efforts Thursday, enforcing the highest level of fire restrictions, Stage 3.
Those restrictions ban a long list of fire-prone materials, equipment and recreational activities for the public. They include outdoor grinding, welding, chainsaws, campfires, charcoal, propane grills, tiki torches, outdoor cooking, outdoor smoking, on-road and off-road diesel motor vehicles with a regenerative exhaust system that produces sparks, fireworks and model rockets.
The hottest areas of the fire in the county are close to Wetmore and St. Charles Peak, according to Custer County Sheriff Rich Smith.
Officials are eager to open evacuation zones back up to residents but, for now, they are “kind of at the mercy of the weather, which does not look promising for next week,” Smith said.
Meanwhile, Fremont County officials over the past few days have dialed evacuation orders down to pre-evacuation orders in many communities, including Williamsburg, Rockvale and Coal Creek, according to Fremont County Sheriff Allen Cooper.
On Thursday afternoon, the Aspen Acres fire gained steam on the west side around North Muddy Creek as well as south of Isabel and north of Rye.
Crews are going after the fire with several attack methods. They have set up miles of new dozer line on the northwest, northeast and southwest borders of the fire while also trying to link together several sections of work, according to the update.
Firefighters are trying to eliminate fuels between the dozer line and the main fire on the north side. On the fire’s eastern side by Even Road, firefighters are patrolling and monitoring hot spots while personnel on the south side are looking over communities and protecting structures in Rye and Colorado City. They are also focused on the dozer line, handline, hose lays and preserving structures close to Highway 165.
On the fire’s west side, crews are building a dozer line in the South Hardscrabble area and in the area around Mingus Ranch.
Meanwhile, helicopters Thursday afternoon dumped buckets of water on the west and southwest portions of the fire to slow “advancing segments” stoked by warm temperatures. Aircraft will continue Friday attacking flames on the west side.
“While good progress has been made, there are many challenging areas ahead,” the update stated. “Additional weeks of work remain and crews are available to respond.”
Thursday afternoon weather aided fire crews. Scattered storms traveled east to west, offering moisture in the northern range of the fire. Clouds and humidity helped curb parts of the fire. More scattered shows and thunderstorms are forecast for Friday “with potential for gusty outflow winds and heavy rain.” The forecast includes a minor risk of flash flooding.
The National Interagency Fire Center map shows wildfires burning in Colorado.
Ferris fire
The San Miguel County Sheriff’s Office on Friday urged residents in the county’s far western region to be ready to prepare for a potential evacuation because of the Ferris fire and its behavior.
The Ferris fire is continuing to gobble up more acres in southwestern Colorado, expanding to 62,916 acres from 60,105 acres Thursday, according to a Friday morning update.
Containment of the fire has stayed steady at 19%.
Crews focused on finishing the strategic firing operations off Forest Road 521 southeast of Bradfield Bridge Campground on Thursday morning. They have established “a wider control line” with the vegetation burned about one-half to three-quarters of a mile off the roadway. The line is attached to an area burned several days ago and crews have since secured it with no residual heat left.
“Moderate” fire activity continued to affect the area around Bradfield Bridge Campground, though the campground avoided the blaze, according to the update. The response team is continuing to put out hot spots close to the control lines around the bridge and along the road north toward County Road P.
They are strengthening existing fire lines and eliminating unburned vegetation that could act as fuel.
“Firefighters also continued extensive mop-up operations, extinguishing pockets of heat near the fire’s edge and patrolling containment lines to ensure they remained secure,” the update stated. “Vegetation between the fire’s edge and established containment lines continued to burn out as intended following the strategic firing operations completed earlier this week, further reducing the potential for the fire to spread beyond established control features.”
Along the fire’s eastern perimeter, from the Glade Ranch Subdivision south along Forest Road 514, firefighters continued monitoring, reinforcing containment lines and snuffing out “isolated pockets of heat.”
Meanwhile, in the northeast, from Benchmark Lookout north to Willow Draw, dozers and hotshot teams made more progress building out direct fire lines in spots where it was safe.
Gold Mountain fire
Firefighters made progress in their battle against the Gold Mountain fire in southwestern Colorado on Thursday as crews focused on extinguishing embers, attacking hot spots and monitoring the southern and southeastern regions of the fire, according to a Friday morning update.
The response team, which totals 986 people, is setting small, supervised fires close to Owl Creek, Cow Creek and Nate Creek to help cut down on fuels and reinforce containment lines. Additionally, crews are insulating neighboring communities, clearing away additional vegetation to create more durable indirect firelines.
The fire grew to 33,185 acres up from 31,131 acres Thursday. Containment of the blaze shrunk to 7% from 8% because of the fire spreading around Owl Creek and Country Road 858 throughout the past two days.
Firefighters are continuing to keep an eye on spot fires east of Cimarron Ridge, according to the update. The biggest fire growth is affecting the Nate Creek area, where a major spot fire gained ground northeast along the west side of Cimarron Ridge.
Fire beyond that area is mostly “smoldering, creeping and occasional single-tree torching as heavy fuels continue to burn within the fire’s interior,” the update stated.
Crews are also working to protect structures around Silver Jack Reservoir, High Mesa, Bear Claw and area homes and ranches.
“Fire activity is expected to remain most active in the Nate Creek area, while the rest of the fire is expected to show mostly smoldering and creeping behavior,” the update stated. “Crews will continue building and strengthening containment lines, securing completed work and protecting nearby communities.”
Friday’s forecast will bring “slightly warmer and drier” conditions and more mild winds. A small chance of afternoon thunderstorms could produce lightning and “gusty, unpredictable winds,” according to the update.
A heat advisory will roll through Saturday in lower elevations and will stick around through Monday as the region is expected to remain hot and dry.
Willow fire
The Willow fire west of Leadville grew slightly to 4,499 acres Friday morning, up from 4,364 acres Thursday. Containment of the fire increased to 22% Thursday evening from 16% in the morning.
Crews on Thursday took to the skies during the week to drop buckets of water primarily on the northern side of the fire. Meanwhile, initial attack crews are preparing to respond to any new area wildfires sparked by lightning.
The hot, dry weather forecast is becoming a concern for the weekend.
“Upcoming fire weather conditions will test the containment lines firefighters have spent the past week establishing and strengthening on the Willow fire,” officials said in Friday morning’s update. “Incident meteorologists are anticipating an uptick in critical fire weather following a few days of mild temperatures and scattered precipitation. Weather is expected to trend hotter, drier and windier heading into the weekend, setting the area up for a potential red flag warning.”