Wildfires continued burning across Colorado on Saturday, consuming another 41 square miles as firefighters continue facing hot, dry conditions over the Fourth of July weekend.
“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 Siloam Road and Red Creek “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. Updated evacuation information 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.
Road closures because of the Aspen Acres fire as of Saturday morning, according to the Colorado Department of Transportation:
- Colorado 96 in both directions between Silver Cliff and Siloam Road west of Pueblo
- Southbound Colorado 67 between the Fremont County line and Wetmore
- Colorado 165 in both directions between McKenzie Junction and I-25
- Colorado 78 in both directions 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 Gold Mountain fire 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.
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U.S. 550 is closed between Ridgway and Ouray, 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 evacuation map.
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 BLM land and the Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre and Gunnison National Forests.
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, 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 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 Willow fire 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, Lake County Sheriff Heath Speckman said on Saturday morning. County officials are communicating with the app organizers and will send out community messages before updating evacuation maps moving forward.
Mandatory evacuations 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 Pike-San Isabel National Forests 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 air quality health advisory for wildfire smoke is active for Alamosa, Chaffee, Custer, Delta, Dolores, Fremont, Gunnison, Hinsdale, Mineral, Montrose, Pueblo, Ouray, Rio Grande, Saguache, San Juan and San Miguel counties.
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