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 since been lowered 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 to 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 Gayle Perez explained some homes were counted twice by the Disaster Assessment Team when it first went out to evaluate damage.

Perez said the damage assessment out of 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 of them could have already 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 on Friday.

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

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 sprawling fire that is more than 99,800 acres had been 36% contained since Wednesday. The Northern Rockies Complex Incident Management Team did not report any acreage growth on Friday morning.

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 now has about 1,700 members, down a bit in recent days.

During a Friday morning briefing, Ben Wagner, operations section chief, highlighted the main priority is northwest of Rye where the fire is still active and lots of good 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 hotspots 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 will be 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.