Editor’s note: This story was updated with information provided by officials Friday night.

Following a big jump in containment, a damage reassessment for the Aspen Acres fire has lowered the total number of destroyed homes.

Initially thought to be 337 total homes destroyed in Pueblo and Custer counties, the number has decreased to 319 overall, according to the counties’ sheriff’s offices. A total of 241 have been lost in Pueblo County and 78 in Custer County. The latest total number of structures destroyed is between 780 and 851, a Custer County deputy said.

The updated numbers still make the Aspen Acres fire one of the most destructive wildfires in state history.

Pueblo County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Gayle Perez explained that the Disaster Assessment Team counted some homes twice when it began to evaluate damage.

Perez said the damage assessment in Pueblo County is mostly complete, but there are still some homes that are not on the county assessor’s map that have not been examined.

“But, for the most part, they’re done. It’s just these one or two homes that they’re finding out there that weren’t on the map,” she said.

Perez said the team was out Friday to check on at least 20 homes, though some may already have been assessed.

The breakdown of homes destroyed in Pueblo County is 208 in Beulah, two in Colorado City, three in unincorporated parts of the county and 28 in Rye, according to Perez.

The county’s disaster assistance center will soon shift to a recovery assistance center as crews mostly quell the fire’s spread in Pueblo County.

In Custer County, the deputy said their assessments continue. He had no estimate for when they might be completed.

Their disaster assistance center in Westcliffe is still operating, although residents in evacuation zone C-9B, including Fairview, are expected to be allowed back into their homes on Saturday morning, Sheriff Rich Smith said.

Containment numbers

Firefighters working on the Aspen Acres fire achieved 48% containment during the day Thursday — a big step up as thousands of residents in the Rye area wait to return home.

The containment number was moved up to 61% by officials Friday night, when the total number of acres burned also hit 100,224.

“Things are looking really good out here,” incident commander Rich Cowger said at a news conference Friday afternoon. “We’re happy with the progress that’s being made.”

The fire was being fought by 1,611 personnel heading into the weekend.

The sprawling fire had been 36% contained since Wednesday. The Northern Rockies Complex Incident Management Team did not report any acreage growth on Friday afternoon ahead of the slight increase Friday night.

Containment is a measure of the fire’s perimeter that is no longer growing.

The new containment was achieved mostly on the north side of the fire following weeks of work, the Northern Rockies team announced. The team has about 1,700 members, a small decrease in recent days.

During a Friday morning briefing, Ben Wagner, operations section chief, highlighted that the main priority is northwest of Rye, where the fire is still active and lots of work is going on to protect homes.

“Everyone out there understands the importance that this piece of ground has to protecting the community of Rye,” he said.

According to Perez, most of the 3,061 residents who have been evacuated live in Rye. But there are other pockets of evacuated areas in towns like Beulah.

North of Rye, in an area nicknamed the chicken foot because it sticks out, Aspen Acres has been starting smaller fires ahead of itself, but those are igniting away from the community, Wagner said.

“If you are seeing increased activity that’s probably what you are seeing,” Wagner explained.

Helicopters have been suppressing the fire in that area for several days, said Nikia Hernandez, branch director during a Thursday update.

Around San Isabel Lake, crews are putting out hot spots to help protect structures, Wagner said.

While further north, along the western edge of the fire, crew are preparing a fire control line and making “really, really good progress,” Wagner said.

A community meeting was held at 7 p.m. Friday at the Raymond Aguirre Community Center, 28 County Road 632 in Gardner. The meeting will also be livestreamed on Facebook.