Multiple wildfires continue to burn across Colorado, forcing several evacuations and road closures, according to local and state officials.

The fastest-growing and largest fire was first reported at 40 acres around 6 a.m. Monday and began in Custer County near the Pueblo County line. It rapidly grew northeastward to more than 23,100 acres by 5 p.m., according to the Pueblo County Sheriff’s Office.

Winds of around 100 mph prevented air support from combating the fire, which has affected an “unspecified number” of structures.

Numerous counties in southeast Colorado that were under red flag warnings on Monday will be under them again from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Tuesday, including in Pueblo County. The warning cautions of humidity as low as 6%, wind gusts up to 45 mph and “rapidly and erratically” growing fires.

Beulah and Rye residents were ordered to leave their homes as the Aspen Acres fire broke out early Monday. Evacuation orders stretched from Custer County to Interstate 25 about 7 miles south of Pueblo. The Pueblo Fire Department assisted in bussing residents from Rye to the city’s evacuation center.

Early Monday evening, the Sheriff’s Office announced a road closure of Colorado 165 at mile point 31.2 and encouraged anyone with livestock to cut their fences if there are no means of transportation.

As of 5:30 p.m., the National Interagency Fire Center showed the fire’s perimeter covered most of Beulah Valley and some of Cedar Grove.

Anyone living within a mile of the Aspen Acres neighborhood was urged to leave immediately. Residents along Highway 165 to Old San Isabel Road have been ordered to leave. On Monday morning, the evacuation area was expanded to include the Lazy Acres and Bishop Castle areas on Colorado 165.

Just after 9 a.m., the Pueblo County Sheriff’s Office announced on social media that Beulah, an unincorporated town about 25 miles southwest of Pueblo, was under a mandatory evacuation order.

An evacuation order was issued for the town of Rye on Monday afternoon as officials expected “even more significant growth,” according to a social media post from the Custer County Sheriff’s Office.

An evacuation center for people and household pets was set up in Pueblo County at 1650 Cooper Place. Large animals are being sheltered at 4 Bar S, located at 6675 Highway 78 West.

The National Interagency Fire Center reported that the fire was human-caused, although the Sheriff’s Office discredited that assessment and said no cause was determined.

The fire prompted an air quality alert across much of the region, including Pueblo County and parts of eastern El Paso County, according to the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment.

Pueblo health department officials urged everyone to remain indoors and avoid outdoor activities. The smoke prompted the city of Pueblo to cancel all outdoor parks and recreation events on Monday.

Colorado Parks and Wildlife reported falling ash at Lake Pueblo State Park on Monday afternoon.

Up-to-date information on evacuation orders and shelter centers can be found on the county’s emergency status board, which is hosted on the Pueblo County Sheriff’s Office website.

Fremont County

In Fremont County, evacuation orders and road closures were lifted around 6:40 p.m. Monday after a brush fire located in the area of High Park Road and County Road 352A grew to 102 acres.

Multiple emergency crews responded Sunday to tackle the blaze, known as the 11 fire.

The fire burning south of Guffey, near the area where the borders of Park, Teller and Fremont counties meet.

The northbound lanes of county roads 11 and 69 were closed Sunday evening to allow emergency crews to move quickly, officials said.

Huerfano County

A fire in Huerfano County near La Veta Pass (Moonshine Ranch in the area of County Road 531) broke out late Monday afternoon. The Huerfano County Sheriff’s Office ordered evacuations for residents between the fire and Colorado 69 to Farasita. An evacuation center was being set up in Gardner. The fire is known as the Big Sheep fire.

West of Leadville

Mandatory evacuations were ordered for a wildfire west of Leadville. The Willow Fire, which ignited on Sunday afternoon, had grown to 1,200 acres as of Monday afternoon, Lake County officials said.

Snyder-Mesa fire, 3 fatalities

Along the Colorado-Utah border, crews continued to battle the Snyder Mesa blaze, which has combined with the Knowles and Gore fires, according to multiple reports. The Knowles and Gore fires led to the deaths of three firefighters over the weekend, with two additional crew members injured.

The firefighters who died are:

• Emily Barker, 38, of Clinton Township, Michigan, assigned to the U.S. Forest Service Rifle Helitack
• Nick Huterson, 27, of Glendale, Arizona, assigned to the U.S. Forest Service Kaibab National Forest
• Sydney Watson, 26, of Warrior, Alabama, assigned to U.S. Wildland Fire Service Rifle Helitack

Ouray County

Gov. Jared Polis declared a state of emergency due to the Gold Mountain fire, which sparked on Saturday near County Road 14. The blaze grew rapidly over the weekend and was at 7,100 acres, with zero containment, as of Monday evening, according to watchduty.org.

No structures had been lost as of Sunday, but strong winds and steep terrain were creating problems for firefighting crews on the ground, according to the Ouray County Sheriff’s Office. Air resources, including fire retardant drops, were being used to slow the spread.

Dolores County

The Ferris fire, burning in the Glade area north of Dolores in the southwest region of the state, began as three separate blazes that all sparked on Saturday, according to fire officials. All three were believed to have been caused by lightning.

As of Monday, the wildfire had grown to more than 15,000 acres with zero containment, according to the Colorado Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management.

On Monday afternoon, Polis issued verbal disaster declarations for the Aspen Acres and Willow fires.

As of 4 p.m. Monday, no containment had been reported for the Aspen Acres, Willow, 11, Ferris, Gold Mountain or Snyder-Mesa blazes.