The Aspen Acres wildfire, which has burned 98,100 acres in Pueblo and Custer counties over a two-week span, is 35% contained, incident officials said on Sunday.

Crews worked around the clock, increasing dozer line construction, mopping up hot spots and conducting burning operations to eliminate dry fuels.

“Their preparation, timing and execution are generating the desired results,” officials said in a news release.

More than 1,930 personnel are working the wildfire, which has shown signs of slowing down in recent days. On July 5, the blaze had scorched nearly 87,000 acres and was at 13% containment, a number that fluctuated as the fire grew, officials said.

Aided by favorable weather conditions Saturday, crews worked to increase structure protection to try to gain an advantage over the blaze.

“Things are looking up in some ways,” said incident spokesman Al Nash. “There’s certainly a lot of positive signs.”

But a high-pressure weather system brought hot, dry and windy conditions into the area Sunday, possibly increasing fire activity, particularly on the west side, where fuels remain “extremely receptive to fire,” incident officials said.

“We still have a couple of areas that are proving to be challenging,” Nash said. “On the central/west area of the fire line, we’ve had some fire growth into some difficult terrain.”

The area west of Rye, near Camp Jackson, is presenting challenges as well, Nash said.

“There’s some heavily wooded, steep terrain,” he said. “That is going to be a long-term process.”

Alaska Complex Incident Management Team 1 typically assumes command of an incident for 14 days, officials said. The team’s last day on the Aspen Acres blaze is Tuesday.

“The Northern Rockies Incident Management Team 6 will begin arriving Monday,” Nash said. “On Tuesday, their personnel will shadow our personnel for a day to ensure a seamless transition and on Wednesday, they will take over complete management of the fire for two weeks.”

Custer, Pueblo, Fremont and Huerfano counties have evacuations and pre-evacuations in place.

A tentative, phased reentry plan for Beulah residents begins Monday, barring a significant change in fire conditions. While displaced residents are understandably eager to return to their homes, residents are asked to adhere to their assigned reentry time and route to avoid confusion and delays.

A flood of calls from landowners requesting access to properties west of Rye caused the phone system to crash on Saturday, officials said. Homeowners looking to reenter their properties are asked to reach out via email at [email protected].

Before returning, residents must obtain a reentry card from the Disaster Assistance Center (DAC) at 29 Lehigh Ave., Pueblo. The DAC is open daily from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Nash cautioned residents that while crews make inroads in their battle against the wildfire, there is still much work to be done.

“Suppressing this fire and increasing containment is a fairly long-term effort because we’re dealing with really challenging fire conditions and terrain,” he said. “It’s going to take a lot of brain power, a lot of horsepower and a lot of time.”