Story perspectives

Colorado's Aspen Acres Fire Tops Rankings, Evacuations Ordered

7/6/2026

Summary

Story summary

Aspen Acres Fire is Colorado’s eighth-largest wildfire, overtaking the 2013 West Fork Fire, and investigators are still seeking the human cause.
About 665 firefighters and National Guard soldiers battle the blaze, but single-digit humidity, strong winds and dry thunderstorms keep containment low.
Authorities ordered mandatory evacuations for dozens of communities in Custer, Pueblo, Fremont and Huerfano counties and opened shelters at Pathfinder Park and the Colorado State Fairgrounds.

History

Historical Context

In 1988, drought-driven fires consumed about 36 % of Yellowstone National Park, prompting the U.S. Forest Service and National Park Service to deploy roughly 9,600 firefighters and later adopt stricter interagency evacuation and funding policies. Those reforms guided Colorado’s 2024 Aspen Acres Fire response, where 665 firefighters and National Guard troops executed mandatory evacuations and opened shelters.

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Story summary

Aspen Acres Fire is Colorado’s eighth-largest wildfire, overtaking the 2013 West Fork Fire, and investigators are still seeking the human cause.
About 665 firefighters and National Guard soldiers battle the blaze, but single-digit humidity, strong winds and dry thunderstorms keep containment low.
Authorities ordered mandatory evacuations for dozens of communities in Custer, Pueblo, Fremont and Huerfano counties and opened shelters at Pathfinder Park and the Colorado State Fairgrounds.

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