Northern movement of Aspen Acres Fire prompts mandatory evacuations south of Florence in Fremont County
Scott Harrison
FREMONT COUNTY, Colo, (KRDO) — Despite fire crews increasing containment from zero to 14% in the Aspen Acres Fire over the weekend, the intensity of flames on the north side of the burn zone raised the risk to residents north of the Custer/Fremont County line.
As a result, authorities elevated the status from pre-evacuation to mandatory evacuation late Sunday along ten miles of Highway 67 from just south of Florence in Fremont County to the junction of Highway 96, near Wetmore in Custer County.
Flames were visible in the distance before dawn Monday from the newest checkpoint on Highway 67 at the County Road 100 intersection.
A KRDO 13 crew that arrived around 5 a.m. has seen little activity, aside from several property owners hauling livestock out of the area in trailers.
The current checkpoint is several miles farther north than the one established last Thursday, when the area was under pre-evacuation status.
A factor in the change to a mandatory evacuation was an increase in the fire’s intensity Sunday, when strong winds from a passing thunderstorm pushed flames dangerously close to Wetmore.
Authorities used bulldozers to create fire breaks to protect homes and other structures before winds died down.
It’s the second time since Thursday that crews scrambled to keep the fire out of Wetmore.
More resources also were needed on the east side of the fire, near Siloam Road, north of Highway 78; in the Beulah area, which has been constantly threatened; and southwest of Colorado City and Rye, into Huerfano County.
Some of the latter areas are in either pre-evacuation or mandatory evacuation status.
Around 1,100 firefighters from across the county are fighting the Aspen Acres Fire.