A wildfire burning southwest of Denver has destroyed more than 160 structures and prompted the evacuation of thousands of residents, as unpredictable winds pushed the blaze across two Colorado counties by Friday.
The Aspen Acres fire is among approximately 40 uncontained large wildfires burning primarily in the western United States, exacerbated by months of dry conditions and a historically low snowpack in some areas this past winter.
Firefighters were utilizing water from the Pueblo Reservoir for suppression efforts on the Aspen Acres fire. The blaze grew overnight by 17 square miles, reaching nearly 105 square miles by Friday, with no containment reported.
The Pueblo County Sheriff's Office issued evacuation orders for all of Colorado City, an unincorporated community of about 2,200 people, as well as the towns of Beulah, Rye, and San Isabel.
In response to the emergency, about 50 National Guard soldiers were deployed Friday to assist with staffing checkpoints on roads in Custer and Pueblo counties. These soldiers will also support State Park Rangers in managing additional boats used to keep boaters clear of water-scooping operations.
Meanwhile, on the western side of the Rocky Mountains, fire crews had achieved about 65% containment of the Snyder Fire, located on the Colorado/Utah border. This fire was the site of a recent tragedy where three members of a Helitack team died and two others were injured after being overtaken by flames last weekend.
In Utah, the Cottonwood fire in the southwestern part of the state had expanded to over 147 square miles by Friday, while the Babylon fire in the southeastern corner of the state reached 133 square miles.