Overview
- The fire ignited west of Beulah on Monday, June 29 and has since exploded to roughly 85,585 acres with containment at 0 percent according to the incident management team.
- Officials say at least 180–200 structures have been destroyed and mandatory evacuations are in place for Beulah, Rye, San Isabel and all of Colorado City, displacing more than 11,000 residents.
- Incident reports and forecasts warn of single-digit humidity, sustained gusty winds and Red Flag Warnings that produced overnight eight‑mile and multi‑mile runs and generated extreme crown‑fire behavior.
- Colorado placed Aspen Acres the nation’s No. 1 firefighting priority and federal aid has arrived with National Guard personnel, dozens of aircraft, hundreds of additional engines and crews, and a Federal Fire Management Assistance grant.
- Investigators list the cause as human and continue probing while local and state agencies have opened shelters, a Disaster Assistance Center and animal evacuation sites and organized donation drives to support evacuees and first responders.