Thunderstorms with high winds could hamper containment efforts Sunday as multiple wildfires burned in southern and central Colorado.
The Aspen Acres Fire, burning south of Colorado Springs across Pueblo and Custer counties, has grown to more than 86,000 acres and was 13% contained on Sunday morning, and authorities ordered people to evacuate or prepare to evacuate in Custer, Pueblo, Huerfano and Fremont counties.
Over the holiday weekend, more evacuations in Colorado were ordered across four counties where the Aspen Acres fire had burned about 136 square miles south of Colorado Springs, and authorities said the fire had damaged or destroyed more than 200 structures as of Sunday; National Guard soldiers were sent in Friday to help with staffing checkpoints on roads near the fire zone.
Lake County Sheriff Heath Speckman said the Willow Fire west of Leadville grew about 900 acres overnight, bringing it to 3,957 acres with 1% of its circumference secured; Halfmoon Road and the Lake Fork Trailer Park are under mandatory evacuation, the blaze ignited June 28 in the Twin Mounds area between Mount Massive and Leadville, and the cause remains undetermined.
Nick Castro, one of the Southwest Area Complex Incident Management Team's operations chiefs, said crews had planned to use Halfmoon Road and the terrain to steer the fire into higher elevations but that plan was dashed; Castro called the entire southern boundary an "area of concern" and said crews were measuring "historic dryness right now" and "record-setting (low) fuel moistures."
Other active fires include the Ferris Fire, which has grown to more than 42,000 acres and was 7% contained as of Sunday afternoon, and the Gold Mountain Fire, which has grown to more than 25,000 acres and was 0% contained; across the state officials issued red flag warnings and air quality alerts and the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment warned residents to limit time outdoors because of heavy smoke.
A fire across the border in southern Utah, the Babylon Fire, had grown to more than 90,000 acres and was 0% contained as of Sunday afternoon and is expected to be hot and dry through Monday with very little humidity, officials said.
A memorial service was held Sunday for three firefighters killed June 27 on the Colorado-Utah border, identified as Emily Barker, Sydney Watson and Nick Hutcherson; the Department of Interior described the incident as a "burnover incident," two other firefighters survived and were treated for burns, and Gov. Jared Polis ordered flags to fly half-staff and said in a social media post, "These three brave heroes ran towards the flames, put themselves in harm's way, and gave the ultimate sacrifice to protect Coloradans, our communities and our families."
The memorial service was held in Grand Junction, and U.S. Wildland Fire Service Chief Brian Fennessy said, "They showed up to make order out of chaos day after day with purpose, dedication and heart." Sarah Fisher, the U.S. Forest Service’s deputy chief for fire and aviation management, said, "The work demands long days, heavy burdens and quiet acts of bravery." Officials said the fire where they died is now almost entirely contained; the three firefighters were members of a Helitack crew that sometimes drops into remote areas by helicopter and had deployed emergency protective shelters, which are considered a "last resort" for firefighters. Authorities also provided personal details about the fallen, saying Barker was 38 and from Clinton Township, Michigan; Hutcherson was 27 and served in the U.S. Navy; and Watson was 27 and attended the University of Tennessee Southern.
New shelters were established at the Buena Vista Public Safety Complex and Battle Mountain High School, Leadville Regional Airport was closed to air traffic unrelated to the firefight or other emergency operations, and new pre-evacuation zones were announced that border Chaffee County with additional warnings issued to areas farther south and southeast of the Willow Fire, including the northern side of Twin Lakes and the eastern stretch of State Highway 82 from Independence Pass.
"The main threats from storms will be gusty outflow winds up to 50 mph and lightning," the NWS office in Pueblo said, and the National Weather Service warned scattered showers and thunderstorms could hit south central and southwest Colorado on Sunday.