Wildfire roundup: More than 170,000 acres burned across Colorado
Several active wildfires across Colorado have burned more than 170,000 acres, destroyed hundreds of structures, and forced thousands of people from their homes as of Monday. The largest of these, the Aspen Acres fire, grew to 91,523 acres on Sunday, making it the 7th-largest wildfire in Colorado history.
Fire crews increased containment to 13% on Saturday, but on Monday officials announced that number was 12%.
“We’re confident in the containment lines we have established so far,” said incident spokesman Al Nash. “The smaller percentage doesn’t mean we’ve lost containment. It means the fire has grown.”
All areas that were under pre-evacuation status in Fremont County were placed under mandatory evacuation on Sunday evening.
Sheep Head fire
Location: Huerfano County, south and west of Big Sheep Mountain
Last official update: 9 a.m. Sunday
Size: 1,322 acres
Containment: 65%
Cause: Undetermined
Crews were securing fire lines, mopping up hot spots, and keeping an eye on weather conditions.
Willow fire
Location: Lake County, west of Leadville
Last official update: 9 a.m. Monday
Size: 4,143 acres
Containment: 1%
Cause: Undetermined
The Willow blaze is on U.S. Forest Service land about 6 miles west of Leadville, so the U.S. Forest Service is the lead firefighting agency. Crews from the Colorado Department of Fire Prevention and Control, the Colorado Department of Homeland Security, and surrounding counties are assisting.
Firefighters were securing fire lines and conducting proactive burns in certain areas to eliminate fuels. Aerial resources have been dropping an average of 30,000 gallons of water on the fire each day, officials said.
Gold Mountain fire
Location: Approximately 2 miles northeast of the town of Ouray
Last official update: 9 a.m. Monday
Size: 27,698 acres
Containment: 3%
Cause: Undetermined
Firefighters made progress on the Gold Mountain blaze over the weekend, taking advantage of lighter winds and improved conditions to establish 3% containment. Incident officials plan to conduct “firing operations” to reduce fuels and protect threatened structures.
Ferris fire
Location: Glade area north of the town of Dolores
Last official update: 9 a.m. Monday
Size: 47,780 acres
Containment: 21%
Cause: Undetermined
The majority of containment on the Ferris fire is on the southern and eastern edges of the fire perimeter, officials said. “While any increase in containment is a positive, the uncontained portions of the fire still have tremendous potential for growth.
Snyder fire
Location: Colorado-Utah border
Last official update: 9 a.m. Monday
Size: 30,191 acres
Containment: 95%
Cause: Undetermined
All mandatory evacuations and pre-evacuations for the Snyder fire, which claimed the lives of three federal wildland firefighters on June 27, have been lifted, according to incident officials. Crews are working on reinforcing containment lines and looking for hot spots.
A memorial service for Emily Barker, Nick Hutcherson and Sydney Watson was held in Grand Junction on Sunday.