Colorado wildfire destroys 160 structures as raging blaze causes thousands to evacuate

A wildfire burning southwest of Denver has forced the evacuation of thousands of residents and destroyed more than 160 structures by Friday as erratic winds pushed the blaze across two Colorado counties.

The Aspen Acres fire is one of about 40 uncontained large blazes burning mostly in the West, fueled by months of dry weather and a record lack of snow this past winter in some places.

Fire personnel were scooping water from the Pueblo Reservoir to fight Aspen Acres fire, which expanded overnight by 17 square miles which brought it up to nearly 105 square miles (272 square kilometers) by Friday with zero containment.

All of Colorado City, an unincorporated community of about 2,200, was ordered evacuated as well as the towns of Beulah, Rye and San Isabel, according to the Pueblo County Sheriff’s Office.

About 50 National Guard soldiers were being sent in Friday to help with staffing checkpoints on roads in Custer and Pueblo counties.

Guard members would also help State Park Rangers as they bring on additional boats to keep boaters clear of water-scooping operations.

Fire crews on the western side of the Rocky Mountains had contained about 65% of the Snyder Fire on the Colorado/Utah border, where three members of a Helitack team were killed and two others injured last weekend when they were overcome by flames.

The Cottonwood fire in southwestern Utah had grown to more than 147 square miles (380 square kilometers) by Friday while the Babylon fire in the southeast corner of the state was up to 133 square miles (344 square kilometers).