Aspen Acres fire: More than 260 structures damaged or lost as fire grows past 90,000 acres

Article from CPR News/Andrea Chaflin and Shanna Lewis

A firefighting plane lifts off from the reservoir at Lake Pueblo State Park – photo by Kevin J. Beaty/Denverite

More than 1,500 personnel are engaged in fighting the Aspen Acres fire burning in Southern Colorado. Fire authorities expect that number to rise to nearly 1,900.

“This is a monster and this thing is absolutely doing what it wants to do,” said Jim Pitts with the U.S. Forest Service at a community meeting Monday evening. “This is a tough firefight.”

Pitts said the different agencies involved in fighting the fire are working as a team, but the fire burning west of the city of Pueblo is expected to continue to grow. It’s currently 93,634 acres with 15% containment.

That containment percentage is a slight increase from its previous max of 14% on Sunday. That number had dropped Monday as the fire grew.

Despite the expected growth, some mandatory evacuations on the southeast side of the fire were downgraded to pre-evacuation status yesterday. Those affected include residents west of I-25, north of Cummings Street, east of S. Crow Cutoff, east of Haynes Road and south of Jerry Bass Lane.

“Those areas that are re-populated will be placed on pre-evacuation status, meaning those residents should be ready to evacuate if we have a change in fire behavior,” said Pueblo County Sheriff David Lucero.

Residents allowed re-entry will need an identification card from the Disaster Assistance Center. Lucero said it’s not clear when the thousands of other evacuees will be allowed to return home.

“This fire is still active. It’s still moving,” he said. “I’ve seen it go one direction one day and then double back and come right back down and burn another area.

And although there are some saves, like Bishop Castle and the community of Wetmore, authorities said Monday that more than 260 structures have been damaged or lost across Pueblo and Custer counties.

Officials said the fuels are extremely dry and “probabilities of ignition…have been above 90 percent,” said Eric Trimble, a fire behavior analyst. “So 90% of the embers are basically igniting spot fires ahead of itself. That’s how volatile the conditions have been.”

More storms also mean more wind

While forecasters anticipate some rain or storms in the next few days, thunderstorms can bring with them strong winds, which is “what basically is propelling that fire in multiple directions,” Trimble said.

“This fire has been very difficult to predict because of the volatility of the wind and the speed of the wind in these canyons.”

Trimble added that the weather service predicts conditions will then return to hot and extremely dry.

The fire continues to be the top priority fire in the country.

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