The community of Beulah and areas near the town of Rye are under mandatory evacuation orders due to the rapidly expanding Aspen Acres fire, which was first reported in Custer County on Monday morning, according to a Facebook post from the Pueblo County Sheriff’s Department.
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Residents in Beulah and south of Lake Isabel up to the town limits of Rye are urged to leave immediately and not delay.
The Custer County Sheriff’s Office at 1:20 p.m. ordered the evacuation of all homes along Colorado 165 from Colorado 96 south to the Pueblo County line.
“Leave now,” a post urged.
At 2:11 p.m., additional evacuations were ordered for 3R Road to Waterbarrel Road. As of 2:31 p.m., Colorado 165 to Blanco Street in Colorado City was closed, as was Colorado 78 at Waterbarrel Road.
An evacuation shelter has been established in the Pueblo County Recreation Center at 1650 Cooper Place.
Another shelter has also been set up at the Wetmore Community Center, 95 County Road 393.
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Beulah is an unincorporated community of about 500 residents located along Colorado 78, about 21 miles southwest of Pueblo in the foothills of the Wet Mountains.
Earlier evacuation orders are in place for residents of the Aspen Acres area along Colorado 165 to Old San Isabel Road, the Lazy Acres area and the vicinity of Bishops Castle, a popular tourist attraction.
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The San Isabel Electric Association reported power outages in the Beulah Valley and areas near the fire that are impacting around 1,000 customers on Monday afternoon.
“Lineworkers cannot get into the area to make repairs due to fire activity. We do not know when we will be able to access our equipment and do not know when power will be restored,” the utility warned in a post.
The fire started in the area of the Aspen Acres campground and was estimated at 2,476 acres or 4.3 square miles, according to the most recent update on Facebook from the Pueblo County Sheriff’s Office.
Strong winds are driving the fire, which was estimated at 362 acres as of a 10 a.m. update.
The Pueblo County Emergency Operations Center has been activated and is coordinating the response. The Pueblo Department of Health has issued an air quality alert and urged all residents to remain inside.
Pueblo County Sheriff David Lucero and Fire Chief Barb Huber have placed the county under Stage 2 fire restrictions, which prohibit the sale and use of fireworks.
Gov. Jared Polis has also issued verbal disaster declarations for the Aspen Acres fire and for the Willow fire in Lake County.
The declarations will bring in additional state resources to help fight the fires, including engine and hand crews, as well as aerial resources.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
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