|
|
|
|
|
10 July 2026
|
Aspen Acres Fire destroys over 780 structures, Colorado, US
|
|
|
|
|
The ongoing and destructive Aspen Acres Fire has been burning in Custer County and Pueblo County in southern Colorado, 20 miles from Pueblo. As of July 6, 2026, the wildfire has burned 97 083 acres (39 288ha) and is 20% contained. It has damaged or destroyed over 780 structures making it the now the seventh most destructive in Colorado's history and the eighth largest. It is also currently the largest wildfire burning in Colorado and is the top priority in terms of resources by the US. The fire was first reported on June 29, 2026 and grew to over 23 000 acres (9 300ha) the same day several miles to the east driven by the high winds. Mandatory evacuations were widespread in and around the town of Beulah as a result. The fire mostly burnt the outskirts of the town but still caused significant damage.
On July 2, more high winds caused the fire to grow heavily to the north and extend south where the head of the fire jumped several roadways and threatened Colorado City. The western side of town was told to evacuate to the east away from the approaching fire. Evacuations continued overnight until around 12:00am, when the entire city was told to evacuate.
By July 3, it was the top firefighting priority in the state and entire nation. The Federal Emergency Management Agency issued grants to cover up to 75 percent of firefighting costs as the fire surpassed 66 000 acres, with continued zero percent containment. An Alaska incident management team assumed command of the fire as it was declared the state's ninth largest.
On July 4, the fire had grown to over 87 000 acres with over 212 structures confirmed destroyed as it continued moving at a more moderate pace to the north and west, running up saint Charles Peak. The Alaska incident management team confirmed that the fire was at 6% containment as of 18:45 MDT.
The fire had surpassed 90 000 acres on July 5, nearly the same size as the Cottonwood Fire burning in Utah. Erratic outflow winds from thunderstorms had continued pushing the blaze north into Custer County and the Wetmore area as well as Greenville. Over 1 300 personnel were fighting the fire and protecting structures. Evacuations were also extended significantly into southern Fremont County not too far from Cañon City. Containment had also decreased 2% overnight.
Rain fell on most of the fire perimeter by July 8 as it surpassed 96 000 acres along with increasing containment. The most significant amounts of rain fell on the northern and southern edges, where fire activity was moderated and firefighters were switching to offensive tactics. This, however, brought risks with mudslides and flash floods for them as they continued operations.
Evacuations
The fire has forced at least 4 000 people to evacuate from numerous towns, including Williamsburg, Coal Creek and Rockvale. Pre-evacuations were issued for residents on national forest land and major highways and in multiple countys.
Aspen Acres fire has destroyed 780 structures across Pueblo and Custer counties, new aerial analysis shows
A private aerial imagery company’s analysis suggests the Aspen Acres fire may have destroyed hundreds more structures than local officials have documented so far, identifying 780 structures lost across Pueblo and Custer counties.
The estimate includes all “unique building structures,” such as garages, barns and sheds, while damage assessments by Pueblo and Custer county officials only include homes and commercial buildings.
As of Thursday, Pueblo County officials had confirmed the Aspen Acres fire destroyed 192 homes and four commercial buildings as wind gusts up to 100 mph pushed the flames across critically dry fuels. Since igniting June 29, the fire has scorched more than 96,000 acres and ranks as the seventh largest wildfire in Colorado’s recorded history.
Pueblo County officials have identified 661 addresses within the fire perimeter and completed assessments on about 67% of those properties, according to a sheriff’s office spokesperson.
“Their focus right now is on homes,” spokesperson Gayle Perez said. She said she was not sure if damage assessments will include other structures in the future.
In Custer County, damage assessment teams have counted 78 homes that were lost in the fire so far — which equates to 2% of the county’s residences, Sheriff Rich Smith said Wednesday.
The high-resolution aerial images from Vexcel Data were captured Sunday from 6,000 feet above the fire by a fixed-wing aircraft operated by Vexcel, a company that flies over natural disasters, like wildfires and hurricanes, worldwide to analyze structural losses, Kris Wagner, the company’s marketing director said in an interview.
The company must comply with air traffic control regulations and obtain permission to fly over active fires. While drones typically fly much lower and are generally prohibited from operating over wildfires, Vexcel’s fixed-wing aircraft equipped with high-resolution cameras can capture clear views of structures within the fire’s footprint from higher elevations.
One pixel in one of Vexcel’s photos equates to 10 centimeters on the ground — roughly the size of a Post-It note, Wagner said.
“We’re well below most sort of emergency operations — all the fire retardants, all the dropping of water — and so we were able to get access to airspace on Sunday,” Wagner said.
An artificial intelligence system compared the latest images with baseline imagery collected in September 2024 to identify the 780 destroyed structures. The results are then reviewed by a team in Germany, Wagner said.
The data is shared with a variety of customers, including insurance companies, utility companies and state governments, including Colorado, Wagner said.
Vexcel, which has a base in Centennial, flies over wildfires when an estimated 100 or more structures have been destroyed, Wagner said. The data does have limitations. Buildings constructed after Sept. 1, 2024 are not included in the analysis. Also, smoke was so dense in some images that the company was unable to assess structure damage in those locations, meaning the estimate may not capture all destroyed buildings, Wagner said.
Before and after images show entire properties burned to ash, highlighting the fire’s devastating impact.
“We haven’t seen a number this big, of properties destroyed, since the LA fires,” Wagner said, referring to the Eaton and Palisades fires in January 2025 that destroyed more than 16,000 structures in southern California communities.
Colorado’s most costly fire, in terms of structures burned, was the Marshall fire in December 2021. More than 1,000 homes and businesses were destroyed in parts of Superior, Louisville and Boulder County. Two people were killed.
Bryan Ware, fire chief for Beulah Fire Protection and Ambulance District said Wednesday that 193 primary residences in Beulah were among those lost in Pueblo County. In a letter addressed to the community, posted to Facebook, he urged for the community’s patience in the aftermath of the flames.
“Beulah has endured wildfires and evacuations before but nothing on this scale. Recovery will look different this time, and it will take patience from all of us,” Ware wrote.
“I have no doubt we will rebuild. We will support one another. We will remain the close-knit community that has always defined Beulah.”
Sources: Colorado News, Colorado Springs Gazette, Denver Post, Pueblo West Firefighters Local 4765, Aspen Acres Fire 2026, Pueblo County Sheriff's Office, Daily Dispatch
On July 2, more high winds caused the fire to grow heavily to the north and extend south where the head of the fire jumped several roadways and threatened Colorado City. The western side of town was told to evacuate to the east away from the approaching fire. Evacuations continued overnight until around 12:00am, when the entire city was told to evacuate.
By July 3, it was the top firefighting priority in the state and entire nation. The Federal Emergency Management Agency issued grants to cover up to 75 percent of firefighting costs as the fire surpassed 66 000 acres, with continued zero percent containment. An Alaska incident management team assumed command of the fire as it was declared the state's ninth largest.
On July 4, the fire had grown to over 87 000 acres with over 212 structures confirmed destroyed as it continued moving at a more moderate pace to the north and west, running up saint Charles Peak. The Alaska incident management team confirmed that the fire was at 6% containment as of 18:45 MDT.
The fire had surpassed 90 000 acres on July 5, nearly the same size as the Cottonwood Fire burning in Utah. Erratic outflow winds from thunderstorms had continued pushing the blaze north into Custer County and the Wetmore area as well as Greenville. Over 1 300 personnel were fighting the fire and protecting structures. Evacuations were also extended significantly into southern Fremont County not too far from Cañon City. Containment had also decreased 2% overnight.
Rain fell on most of the fire perimeter by July 8 as it surpassed 96 000 acres along with increasing containment. The most significant amounts of rain fell on the northern and southern edges, where fire activity was moderated and firefighters were switching to offensive tactics. This, however, brought risks with mudslides and flash floods for them as they continued operations.
Evacuations
The fire has forced at least 4 000 people to evacuate from numerous towns, including Williamsburg, Coal Creek and Rockvale. Pre-evacuations were issued for residents on national forest land and major highways and in multiple countys.
Aspen Acres fire has destroyed 780 structures across Pueblo and Custer counties, new aerial analysis shows
A private aerial imagery company’s analysis suggests the Aspen Acres fire may have destroyed hundreds more structures than local officials have documented so far, identifying 780 structures lost across Pueblo and Custer counties.
The estimate includes all “unique building structures,” such as garages, barns and sheds, while damage assessments by Pueblo and Custer county officials only include homes and commercial buildings.
As of Thursday, Pueblo County officials had confirmed the Aspen Acres fire destroyed 192 homes and four commercial buildings as wind gusts up to 100 mph pushed the flames across critically dry fuels. Since igniting June 29, the fire has scorched more than 96,000 acres and ranks as the seventh largest wildfire in Colorado’s recorded history.
Pueblo County officials have identified 661 addresses within the fire perimeter and completed assessments on about 67% of those properties, according to a sheriff’s office spokesperson.
“Their focus right now is on homes,” spokesperson Gayle Perez said. She said she was not sure if damage assessments will include other structures in the future.
In Custer County, damage assessment teams have counted 78 homes that were lost in the fire so far — which equates to 2% of the county’s residences, Sheriff Rich Smith said Wednesday.
The high-resolution aerial images from Vexcel Data were captured Sunday from 6,000 feet above the fire by a fixed-wing aircraft operated by Vexcel, a company that flies over natural disasters, like wildfires and hurricanes, worldwide to analyze structural losses, Kris Wagner, the company’s marketing director said in an interview.
The company must comply with air traffic control regulations and obtain permission to fly over active fires. While drones typically fly much lower and are generally prohibited from operating over wildfires, Vexcel’s fixed-wing aircraft equipped with high-resolution cameras can capture clear views of structures within the fire’s footprint from higher elevations.
One pixel in one of Vexcel’s photos equates to 10 centimeters on the ground — roughly the size of a Post-It note, Wagner said.
“We’re well below most sort of emergency operations — all the fire retardants, all the dropping of water — and so we were able to get access to airspace on Sunday,” Wagner said.
An artificial intelligence system compared the latest images with baseline imagery collected in September 2024 to identify the 780 destroyed structures. The results are then reviewed by a team in Germany, Wagner said.
The data is shared with a variety of customers, including insurance companies, utility companies and state governments, including Colorado, Wagner said.
Vexcel, which has a base in Centennial, flies over wildfires when an estimated 100 or more structures have been destroyed, Wagner said. The data does have limitations. Buildings constructed after Sept. 1, 2024 are not included in the analysis. Also, smoke was so dense in some images that the company was unable to assess structure damage in those locations, meaning the estimate may not capture all destroyed buildings, Wagner said.
Before and after images show entire properties burned to ash, highlighting the fire’s devastating impact.
“We haven’t seen a number this big, of properties destroyed, since the LA fires,” Wagner said, referring to the Eaton and Palisades fires in January 2025 that destroyed more than 16,000 structures in southern California communities.
Colorado’s most costly fire, in terms of structures burned, was the Marshall fire in December 2021. More than 1,000 homes and businesses were destroyed in parts of Superior, Louisville and Boulder County. Two people were killed.
Bryan Ware, fire chief for Beulah Fire Protection and Ambulance District said Wednesday that 193 primary residences in Beulah were among those lost in Pueblo County. In a letter addressed to the community, posted to Facebook, he urged for the community’s patience in the aftermath of the flames.
“Beulah has endured wildfires and evacuations before but nothing on this scale. Recovery will look different this time, and it will take patience from all of us,” Ware wrote.
“I have no doubt we will rebuild. We will support one another. We will remain the close-knit community that has always defined Beulah.”
Sources: Colorado News, Colorado Springs Gazette, Denver Post, Pueblo West Firefighters Local 4765, Aspen Acres Fire 2026, Pueblo County Sheriff's Office, Daily Dispatch
