Colorado wildfires: Gov. Jared Polis declares disaster emergency for Green Ridge fire near Steamboat Springs

DENVER — Two new wildfires sparked in northern Colorado on Sunday, one of which prompted mandatory evacuations and a disaster declaration from Gov. Jared Polis.

The Green Ridge and Fishhook fires join four larger wildfires actively burning on more than 205,000 acres across Colorado: the Aspen Acres, Gold Mountain, Ferris and Willow fires.

Aspen Acres fire in Custer and Pueblo counties

With a burn area of 98,609 acres, or 154 square miles, the Aspen Acres fire remains Colorado’s largest active wildfire and the seventh-largest in the state’s recorded history. As of Monday morning, the fire had consumed an area roughly the size of Denver and was 36% contained, according to fire officials.

The Aspen Acres fire had destroyed at least 851 structures as of Friday. It’s unclear how many of those are homes, but law enforcement in Pueblo and Custer counties previously announced that at least 337 homes and four businesses had been destroyed.

Beulah residents will tentatively be allowed to return home starting Monday, fire officials said. Residents must have obtained a re-entry card at the Disaster Assistance Center, 29 Lehigh Ave., to access their homes and should enter at a time based on their address, according to the Beulah Fire Protection and Ambulance District.

Updated evacuation information for Pueblo, Custer and Huerfano counties and for Fremont County can be found online.

Evacuated residents can seek shelter at the Pueblo County Recreation Center, 1650 Cooper Place; the Wetmore Community Center, 95 County Road 393; or at Pathfinder Park in Florence, 6655 Colorado 115.

The following roads remained closed for the fire as of Monday morning, according to the Colorado Department of Transportation:

•Colorado 96 in both directions between Silver Cliff and Siloam Road west of Pueblo

•Southbound Colorado 67 between the Fremont County line and Wetmore

•Colorado 165 in both directions between McKenzie Junction and Interstate 25

•Colorado 78 in both directions between Colorado 165 and Rock Creek Road west of Pueblo

The exact origin of the fire remains under investigation, but officials believe it was human-caused.

Green Ridge and Fishhook fires

Two wildfires sparked south of Steamboat Springs in northern Colorado on Sunday, according to Routt County officials.

As of Sunday evening, the Fishhook fire had scorched 94 acres in Routt National Forest, near Rabbit Ears Pass, according to the U.S. Forest Service.

The Green Ridge fire burning near the Stagecoach Reservoir had consumed roughly 25 acres at that time and was threatening an estimated 480 structures, according to a disaster declaration from Colorado Gov. Jared Polis.

As of Monday morning, mandatory evacuations were in effect for an area bordered to the west by Routt County Road 212, to the south by Green Ridge, to the east by Service Creek and to the north by Stage Coach Reservoir, according to the Routt County evacuation map.

Pre-evacuations were also in place at that time for an area east and north of the mandatory evacuation zone. That area was bordered to the north by Stagecoach State Park and Blacktail Mountain, to the west by Routt County Road 16 and to the east by Service Creek and Bushy Creek.

An evacuation center is available at Soroco High School, 305 Grant Ave. in Oak Creek, according to Routt County officials.

“There is plenty of parking room for campers and vehicles,” county officials said. “The evacuation center is for information only and is not currently an overnight shelter, though anyone needing overnight shelter should check in at the evacuation center.”

Information on the cause of the fires was not immediately available.

Gold Mountain fire near Ouray

A pilot fighting a wildfire north of Ouray died Sunday evening when their aircraft crashed into the Silver Jack Reservoir in southwestern Gunnison County, according to the sheriff’s office.

As of Monday morning, the Gold Mountain fire had consumed 36,259 acres with 11% containment, fire officials said. That’s roughly 57 square miles.

More than 980 personnel remained on scene to fight the wildfire, according to Rocky Mountain Complex Incident Management Team 3, which is leading the fire response.

Mandatory evacuations remained in place on Monday for residents of Ouray and Gunnison counties north of the fire, according to the evacuation map.

The Ouray County evacuation zone was bordered to the west by County Road 8 and County Road 10, to the south by Baldy Peak, to the east by Green Mountain and the Cimarron Ridge and to the north by Tommy Creek and Deer Creek.

Evacuations were also in effect northeast of the Cimarron Ridge, along the border of Gunnison and Montrose counties, according to the map. That area is bordered to the north by Washboard Rock, to the east by Gunnison County Road 864A, to the south by Hampden Lake and to the west by Cimarron Ridge.

Montrose County residents north of the mandatory evacuation zone and Gunnison County residents to the east of the zone were on pre-evacuation status at that time.

Pre-evacuation orders remained in effect for the previously evacuated area west of the wildfire’s southern burn area, including Lake Lenore and bordered to the west by U.S. 550, to the north by Cutler Creek, to the east by the wildfire burn area and to the south by Bridalveil Creek.

Evacuated residents can seek shelter at the Ridgway Secondary School, 1200 Green St., according to county officials.

The cause of the Gold Mountain fire, which sparked shortly after 5:30 p.m. on June 27, remains under investigation

Ferris fire in San Juan National Forest, near Dolores

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As of Monday morning, the Ferris fire had consumed an estimated 64,464 acres, or 101 square miles, in and near the San Juan National Forest north of Dolores. At that time, the flames were 23% contained, fire officials said.

Lightning sparked three fires in the San Juan National Forest on June 27. Those fires then grew and merged into the Ferris fire.

As of Sunday, mandatory evacuations remained in effect north and east of Dove Creek, according to the evacuation map. The evacuation area was bordered to the east by Big Canyon, to the north by the border of San Miguel and Dolores counties, to the west by Colorado 141 and to the south by Road H.6.

Across the San Juan National Forest, mandatory evacuations were also in place for the Glade Ranch area. That area was bordered to the south by Trimble Spring, to the west by Narraguinnep Mountain, to the north by Thomas Mountain and to the east by Bayless Ranches, according to the map.

Willow fire near Leadville

Containment continues to grow on a wildfire burning near Leadville in Lake County, according to fire officials.

As of Monday morning, the Willow fire had consumed roughly 6,239 acres with 33% containment, according to Southwest Area Incident Management Team 4, which is leading the fire response. The burn area covers roughly 9 square miles.

Mandatory evacuations remained in place on Monday for an area bordered to the north by Lonesome Lake and Isolation Lakes, to the west by Twining Peak, to the south by Echo Creek and to the east by East Tennessee Creek. Updated evacuation information can be found online.

The cause of the fire, which started on June 29, remains under investigation. As of Monday morning, 753 personnel were on scene to fight the wildfire, according to an update from fire officials.

Air quality alerts

The four large fires have led to consistently worsening air quality across the state, prompting state health officials to issue advisories. The warnings mostly cover central, west and southwest Colorado.

The newest alert from the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment will remain in effect until at least 9 a.m. Monday, according to the agency. That alert includes Montrose, Ouray and Pueblo counties.

If the smoke drops visibility to less than 5 miles in an area, it has reached unhealthy levels, state health officials said in the alert. Those with heart disease and respiratory illnesses, young children and older adults are more at risk.

An ozone action day alert was also issued for the Front Range and will be in effect until at least 4 p.m. Monday. That alert covers the urban corridor from Douglas County to Larimer and Weld counties, including the Denver and Boulder areas.

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