A house is directly in the path of the Aspen Acres fire as it engulfs a hillside near southeast of Beulah on Monday, June 29, 2026. (The Gazette, Jerilee Bennett)
The Aspen Acres fire grew rapidly to over 23,000 acres Monday, forcing evacuations across multiple southern Colorado communities. Emergency shelters opened as residents fled fast-moving flames driven by high winds and red flag conditions.
A woman uses a water hose to wet down the grasses around the Mountain Shadows Mobile Estates in hopes of keeping the Aspen Acres fire from reaching the homes in the mobile home park on Monday, June 29, 2026. Eventually, all residents of the mobile home park were given mandatory evacuation orders(The Gazette, Jerilee Bennett)The Aspen Acres fire engulfs a hillside near southeast of Beulah on Monday, June 29, 2026. (The Gazette, Jerilee Bennett)The Aspen Acres fire engulfs a hillside near southeast of Beulah on Monday, June 29, 2026. (The Gazette, Jerilee Bennett)The Aspen Acres fire engulfs a hillside near southeast of Beulah on Monday, June 29, 2026. (The Gazette, Jerilee Bennett)The Aspen Acres fire engulfs a hillside near southeast of Beulah on Monday, June 29, 2026. (The Gazette, Jerilee Bennett)The Aspen Acres fire erupted Monday, June 29, 2026. (Screen grab, courtesy Pueblo County Sheriff’s Office)Volunteer Teena McKinley-Hull gives some love to Pretty Lady while her owner, Colleen Estes, talks about how to move her horse to the State Fairgrounds on Monday, June 29, 2026. (The Gazette, Jerilee Bennett)Colleen Estes kisses her cat on the head after getting evacuated from her home in Beulah on Monday, June 29, 2026. Estes was waiting to find a way to get her horse to the State Fairground where she would be safe. Estes was evacuated because of the Aspen Acres Fire. (The Gazette, Jerilee Bennett)Justin Burk looks through the binoculars from a road near his home in Mountain Shadows Mobile Estates, keeping an eye on the Aspen Acres Fire. Eventually, he and all the other residents of the mobile home park were given mandatory evacuation orders on Monday, June 29, 2026. (The Gazette, Jerilee Bennett, The Gazette)Heather Acavedo uses a garden hose to wet down the grasses around the Mountain Shadows Mobile Estates in hopes of keeping the Aspen Acres fire from reaching the homes in the mobile home park on Monday, June 29, 2026. Eventually, all residents of the mobile home park were given mandatory evacuation orders. (The Gazette, Jerilee Bennett)A house is directly in the path of the Aspen Acres fire as it engulfs a hillside near southeast of Beulah on Monday, June 29, 2026. (The Gazette, Jerilee Bennett)
