Growth has slowed on many wildfires burning across Colorado, but crews are still working to secure the fires’ perimeters.
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At least 12 people have been injured by the Willow fire burning near Leadville in Lake County, fire officials said in a Sunday morning update. Fire officials did not specify if those injured were firefighters or residents.
The 7,100-acre wildfire is one of Colorado’s smaller fires this year, far behind the 100,200-acre Aspen Acres fire burning in Pueblo and Custer counties. That wildfire remains Colorado’s largest active fire and the seventh-largest on state record.
Jump to: Aspen Acres fire | Gold Mountain fire | Elk fire | Willow fire | Air quality alerts
Aspen Acres fire in Custer and Pueblo counties
As of Sunday morning, Colorado’s largest active wildfire, and the seventh-largest fire in the state’s recorded history, had consumed more than 100,000 acres and was 61% contained, according to fire officials.
The Aspen Acres fire sparked on June 29 in southern Colorado’s Custer County and has since spread across 100,224 acres, or 157 square miles. That’s larger than the city of Denver.
The wildfire’s growth has slowed over the past week as crews steadily increase containment around the flames.
Fire officials have said the Aspen Acres fire has destroyed close to 900 structures, at least 337 of which are homes, according to law enforcement in Pueblo and Custer counties.
Huerfano County officials lifted evacuation orders for people living in the Libre area on Saturday morning, though mandatory evacuations remain for parts of Pueblo and Custer counties.
More than 1,500 personnel were on scene Sunday to fight the fire, according to the morning update.
The following roads remained closed for the fire on Sunday, according to the Colorado Department of Transportation:
- 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. A lawsuit filed last week in Pueblo County alleges a local power company’s equipment may be to blame for starting and fueling the flames.
Gold Mountain fire near Ouray
As of Thursday morning, the Gold Mountain fire north of Ouray had consumed an estimated 37,809 acres with 13% containment. That’s roughly 59 square miles.
The wildfire has not seen significant growth in about a week, but the crews are still working on containment.
“Containment refers to how much of the fire’s perimeter has been surrounded by a control line that firefighters are confident the fire will not cross,” Gold Mountain fire officials said on social media. “It is not a measure of how much of the fire has burned or been put out.”
Incident managers are “intentionally conservative” when declaring sections of the perimeter contained, fire officials said.
“Steep, rugged terrain, heavy fuels, and values at risk require firefighters to be absolutely certain that a section of line will hold before it is counted as contained,” fire officials said. “Even when visible fire activity decreases, crews may still be finding heat near the perimeter, reinforcing containment lines, removing hazardous trees, and conducting mop-up to eliminate any chance of the fire escaping.”
More than 990 personnel were on scene to fight the wildfire on Sunday, according to Rocky Mountain Complex Incident Management Team 2, which is leading the fire response.
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The potential for large wildfire growth decreased over the weekend in response to “monsoonal weather patterns,” fire officials said in a Sunday morning update.
Mandatory evacuations remained in place on Sunday for residents of Ouray and Gunnison counties north of the fire, according to the evacuation map.
The Ouray County evacuation zone was bordered to the west by County Road 8 and County Road 10, to the south by Baldy Peak, to the east by Green Mountain and the Cimarron Ridge and to the north by Tommy Creek and Deer Creek.
Evacuations were also in effect northeast of the Cimarron Ridge, along the border of Gunnison and Montrose counties, according to the map. That area is bordered to the north by Washboard Rock, to the east by Gunnison County Road 864A, to the south by Hampden Lake and to the west by Cimarron Ridge.
Montrose County residents north of the mandatory evacuation zone and Gunnison County residents to the east of the zone were on pre-evacuation status at that time.
Evacuated residents can seek shelter at the Ridgway Secondary School, 1200 Green St., according to county officials.
The cause of the Gold Mountain fire, which sparked shortly after 5:30 p.m. on June 27, remains under investigation
Elk fire
As of Sunday, a lightning-sparked wildfire burning east of Ouray’s Gold Mountain fire had consumed roughly 2,274 acres with no containment, according to fire officials. That’s nearly 4 square miles.
“Cooler temperatures and precipitation contributed to minimal fire activity with no growth detected yesterday,” fire officials said in a Sunday morning update. “Smoldering and creeping were observed throughout the fire perimeter.”
The Elk fire, which started on July 9 north of Lake City, triggered evacuations in Hinsdale County last week. Mandatory evacuation orders remained in place Sunday morning around the fire, including residents west of Colorado 149 and north of the Independence Gulch Trailhead to the county line. An updated evacuation map is available online.
Willow fire near Leadville
The Willow fire had consumed roughly 7,103 acres with 37% containment as of Sunday morning, according to fire officials. The burn area covers roughly 11 square miles.
Mandatory evacuations remained in place Sunday 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.
More than 1,100 structures are threatened by the fire, though no structures have been destroyed, according to a Sunday morning update from California Interagency Incident Management Team 8, which is leading the fire response.
The cause of the fire, which started on June 28, remains under investigation. As of Sunday morning, 692 personnel were on scene to fight the wildfire, according to fire officials.
“A slight increase in fire activity may occur today due to diminished thunderstorm activity,” fire officials said in the update.
Fire officials said 12 injuries have been reported from the fire, but did not specify if those injured were firefighters or civilians.
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