The Aspen Acres fire in Pueblo and Custer counties has grown by nearly 800 acres since Monday, hitting the 101,546-acre mark, officials announced Tuesday on social media.

The fire, the seventh-largest in Colorado history by acreage burned, remained 61% contained and had 1,256 assigned personnel on Tuesday, down about 50 from a day earlier.

Some residents in Custer County received good news with the announcement that at 10 a.m. Wednesday, zones C3 and C4, on the western edge of the fire, will move from mandatory evacuation to pre-evacuation status.

On Tuesday, mandatory evacuations were lifted in zones FS-3, FS-4, P2 and P3 in Pueblo County.  

Reentry cards are required to return to all properties. In Pueblo County, they are available at the Recovery Assistance Center, located at Beulah Heights Elementary School, 2670 Delphinium St., in Beulah. It is open from noon to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Reentry cards in Custer County can be obtained at the Disaster Assistance Center at Lange Hall, 310 S. Third St., in Westcliffe.

Meanwhile, three large wildfires continued to burn across the state on Tuesday amid several new ignitions.

Willow fire

Crews slightly improved containment of the Willow fire to 48%, as some residents still await the lifting of evacuation orders. The 7,196-acre fire is burning in western Lake County near Turquoise Lake.

Gold Mountain and Elk fires

The Gold Mountain fire had limited growth in Ouray County, several dozen miles from the Elk fire in Hinsdale County, which was burning with no containment.

The Elk fire began on July 9 and has expanded its perimeter to over 2,300 acres with no containment. The Gold Mountain fire perimeter spans over 38,000 acres and firefighters have gained 24% containment since it began on June 27.

Ferris fire

The ninth-largest fire in Colorado history was 94% contained on Friday, as crews gained a strong grasp on the Ferris fire, which ignited on June 27 in southwestern Colorado. Firefighters have increased containment of the fire by several dozen percentage points in recent days with help from cooler, rainy weather.

Cottonwood Pass fire

Officials in Eagle County issued pre-evacuation warnings for several areas south of Dotsero and Interstate 70 in the western portion of the county after a new fire began Tuesday afternoon.

The half-acre fire is burning on private land and in an area under the Bureau of Land Management’s jurisdiction, according to the Eagle County Sheriff’s Office.

Northwestern ignitions

Two new fires in northwest Colorado began on Tuesday and grew to a combined 800 acres.

The Fuhr Gulch fire in Moffat County southwest of Craig reached 500 acres with no containment, while the Keystone fire near the Moffat-Rio Blanco county line was reported at 300 acres.

Colorado Springs grass fire

A short-lived fire that began near Explorer Elementary School in Colorado Springs around 5:45 p.m. on Tuesday is under investigation by police and fireworks may have been the cause, according to the Colorado Springs Fire Department.

Anyone with information about “suspicious activity” preceding the fire can call CSPD at 719-444-7000.