Colorado officials allowed some of the thousands of people displaced by four major wildfires to return home this week, with more evacuation orders expected to be lifted Friday as firefighters gradually gain containment.
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The Aspen Acres, Ferris, Gold Mountain and Willow fires have burned 196,596 acres, or 307 square miles, as of Friday morning. That is larger than New York City, about three-quarters of the size of Rocky Mountain National Park and nearly twice the size of the city of Denver.
Thunderstorms brought rain to several of the fires, but it wasn’t enough to change conditions dramatically for fire crews. More hot, dry weather is expected this weekend.
“It’s not a Hollywood movie that the rain comes and everyone’s dancing around in fire camp,” said Brad Washa, section chief on the Aspen Acres fire. “We’re staying on the incident. We’re not releasing any resources, and we have a lot of work left to do.”
Crews are also making steady progress building and strengthening containment lines on the Gold Mountain and Willow fires, officials said Thursday.
Cloud cover and slightly more humid weather helped firefighters slow the growth of four major wildfires burning across Colorado, fire officials said Wednesday.
But thousands of Coloradans remained under mandatory evacuation orders, and law enforcement officials confirmed nearly 200 homes were destroyed by the Aspen Acres fire in Pueblo County.
Jump to: Aspen Acres fire | Gold Mountain fire | Ferris fire | Willow fire | Air quality alerts
Aspen Acres fire in Custer and Pueblo counties
The Aspen Acres fire grew by nearly 1,000 acres Thursday night into Friday, but its estimated containment is now 28%, up from 20% the day before. The fire’s total footprint is an estimated 97,083 acres, or nearly 152 square miles. Some 1,900 people are currently fighting the blaze.
Pueblo County officials said they plan to lift more mandatory evacuations in the southern part of the county on Friday. Fremont County officials lifted all remaining mandatory evacuations Thursday, although areas near the fire are still on pre-evacuation and residents should be ready to leave if fire behavior changes, county leaders said.
Pueblo County damage assessment teams were able to access more of the burn area on Wednesday and confirmed that at least 192 homes had been destroyed in the fire, Sheriff David Lucero said during a Wednesday briefing. Four Pueblo County businesses also have been destroyed, along with 83 homes in Custer County, bringing the fire’s toll to at least 279 structures.
Two more Custer County homes had major damage, and five had minor damage, Sheriff Rich Smith said.
Pueblo County officials have assessed 67% of the damaged structures so far, Lucero said.
Although cooler temperatures and moisture from summer storms can help firefighters, they also threaten flash flooding over the burn area because water can’t be absorbed by the charred soil, Aspen Acres incident commander Jake Livingston said. National Weather Service forecasters issued a flash flood watch for the area around the fire on Wednesday.
The fire’s footprint is approaching the size of Denver, which is a little over 153 square miles, and remains the seventh-largest in Colorado history, according to the Colorado Division of Fire Prevention and Control.
The Pueblo County Sheriff’s Office lifted evacuation orders on Monday for people who live west of Interstate 25 and north of Cummings Street, east of South Crow Cutoff, east of Haynes Road and south of Jerry Bass Lane. Those areas remained on pre-evacuation status, meaning residents must be prepared to leave again if conditions change.
Mandatory evacuations remained in effect on Wednesday for Pueblo and Custer counties, from South Crow Cutoff and Haynes Road to the Wet Mountains, according to the evacuation map. Pre-evacuation orders remained in place for residents living west of Interstate 25 and north of Cummings Street, east of South Crow Cutoff, east of Haynes Road and south of Jerry Bass Lane.
As of Wednesday morning, mandatory evacuations were also active in southern Fremont County, according to the evacuation map. The evacuation area was bordered to the north by Coal Creek, to the east by Hobson, to the south by Wetmore and to the west by Locke Mountain. Evacuations were lifted for Rockvale, Coal Creek and Williamsburg, but those towns remained on pre-evacuation status.
A small section of northern Huerfano County west of Apache City and east of Greenhorn Mountain was also on pre-evacuation status on Wednesday.
Updated evacuation information for Pueblo, Custer and Huerfano counties and for Fremont County can be found 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.
The following roads remained closed for the fire as of Wednesday 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 Interstate 25
- Colorado 78 in both directions 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
To the north, Ouray County officials also lifted mandatory evacuations for some homes near the Gold Mountain fire, and people living along the U.S. 550 corridor were allowed to return home Wednesday.
The Gold Mountain grew about 1,000 acres, or 1.5 square miles, from Thursday into Friday. The fire’s footprint is now 33,185 acres, or 52 square miles, with 7% containment. The estimated containment dropped slightly, which can happen when a fire’s acreage increases.
As of Wednesday, 984 personnel were on scene to fight the wildfire, according to Rocky Mountain Complex Incident Management Team 3, which is leading the fire response.
Higher humidity, increased cloud cover and light rain showers helped limit the wildfire’s spread on Tuesday, according to a Wednesday morning update from fire officials. Flames continued to burn within the perimeter, but firefighters reported minimal growth, the update stated.
Mandatory evacuations remained in place Thursday north of the fire, according to Ouray County’s evacuation map.
The 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. Evacuations were also ordered northeast of the Cimarron Ridge, along the border of Gunnison and Montrose counties, according to the map.
Mandatory evacuations were lifted for an area west of the wildfire that 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. That area is now on pre-evacuation status.
Evacuated residents can seek shelter at the Ridgway Secondary School, 1200 Green St., according to county officials.
Ferris fire in San Juan National Forest, near Dolores
On the Western Slope, crews fighting the Ferris fire near Dolores faced “active” and “intense” fire conditions Wednesday, officials said Thursday. The Ferris fire burned an additional 8 square miles and has consumed 62,916 acres, or 98 square miles. It is 19% contained.
The fire was most active along the western portion and reached the Bradfield Bridge Campground but has not damaged any structures, fire officials said.
Light showers and cloud cover also helped firefighters on the Gold Mountain and Willow fires, but crews on the Ferris fire to the south were not as lucky, officials said Wednesday.
“Extreme fire behavior” on Tuesday afternoon continued overnight into Wednesday, forcing middle-of-the-night evacuations south of the fire as flames burned over the canyon rim.
“Yesterday’s intense fire activity produced rapid uphill runs, torching and crown fire through the Glade Canyon and Big Spring Gulch drainages,” officials said in a Wednesday update.
The growth forced new evacuations from Dolores County Road H.6 south to County Road P, from County Road 12 east to County Road 15 and along U.S. 491 south of County Road M, according to the Dolores County Office of Emergency Management.
As of Thursday evening, the Ferris fire had consumed an estimated 62,916 acres, or 98 square miles, in and near the San Juan National Forest north of Dolores. At that time, the blaze was 19% contained, fire officials said.
Lightning sparked three fires in the San Juan National Forest on June 27. Those fires then grew and merged into the Ferris fire. San Juan Incident Management Team 8 is leading the fire response.
Willow fire near Leadville
Lake County officials lifted some pre-evacuation warnings Thursday as containment on the Willow fire grew to 22%, up from 16% on Wednesday. Flames have consumed 4,466 acres, or 7 square miles, of forest near Turquoise Lake and Leadville.
Mandatory evacuations remained in place on Friday for an area bordered to the north by Lonesome Lake and Isolation Lakes, to the west by Twining Peak, to the south by Echo Creek and to the east by East Tennessee Creek. Updated evacuation information can be found online.
Air quality alerts
The four fires have led to consistently worsening air quality across the state, prompting state health officials to issue advisories. The official warnings mostly cover central, west and southwest Colorado.
The newest alert from the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment will remain in effect until at least 9 a.m. Thursday, according to the agency. That alert includes Custer, Delta, Dolores, Fremont, Hinsdale, Lake, Montrose, Ouray, Pueblo, San Juan and San Miguel counties.
If the smoke drops visibility to less than 5 miles in an area, it has reached unhealthy levels, state health officials said in the alert. Those with heart disease and respiratory illnesses, young children and older adults are more at risk.
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