Public Safety

Residents of the Eagle Springs Ranch Subdivision and the Greenwood Subdivision from County Road 390 to mile marker 24 in Custer County are now allowed back into their homes. The Custer County Office of Emergency Management says residents must pick up re-entry passes sometime between 3:00-8:00 today  at the Wetmore Volunteer Fire Station located at 200 CR 290 in Wetmore. Proof of residents and identification is required.  Re-entry will begin at 5 PM.

Highway 96 will open to thru traffic from McKenzie Junction to Wetmore at 3 PM.

Evacuations are being lifted after a fire broke out near the Rampart Reservoir. The fire has burned about 14 acres, and the El Paso County Sheriff's Office says it's now being worked jointly with the Forest Service.

The Junkins Fire burning predominately in Custer County has prompted evacuations in Custer and Pueblo Counties.  A Type I Incident Command Team assumed command of the Junkins Fire Wednesday morning.  260 personnel are fighting the blaze, including hand crews, air tankers and helicopters.  As of Wednesday afternoon, the fire has burned nearly 17,000 acres, and is now at 3% containment.  The incident commander expects to see more containment tomorrow.  The fire started when a power line was knocked down due to strong winds, landing on a barb wire fence.

Residents of Mountain Shadows Mobile Home Park and the Twin Buttes subdivision in Pueblo County are being allowed back into their homes today, after being evacuated due to the Beulah Hill Fire. 

Evacuations are in place in Pueblo County due to a wildfire burning near Beulah. 

The Pueblo County Sheriff's Office is ordering mandatory evacuations of the entire Beulah Valley. Use Highway 78 to evacuate to Pueblo. See the map above for exact evacuation boundaries.

The rest of the Beulah Valley is now under evacuation. Use HWY 78 to evacuate to Pueblo. #BeulahHillFire

— PuebloCounty Sheriff (@PuebloCountySO) October 4, 2016

Evacuation includes, but is not limited to:

• Oldham Road and Extended Oldham Road
• Signal Mountain (use south exit for evacuation)
• North Creek to Red Mountain Youth Camp
• Pine Drive (use 12 mile as the preferred evacuation route)
• North Signal Mountain Rd
• Mountain Shadows Mobile Home Park
• 2 mile radius of 8300 block of HWY 78 to include 3R Rd.

A rundown of evacuation notices can be found at the Pueblo County Emergency Management info page. Additional updates available at the Pueblo County Sheriff's Office Twitter Page.

TUESDAY UPDATE: Evacuees from the Hayden Pass Fire along County Road 6 in Fremont County will be allowed back to their homes starting Thursday morning at 8.  Those returning home should know heavy timber will continue to burn on the interior of the fire perimeter.

ORIGINAL POST (Monday): Some residents of Fremont County who have been evacuated due to the Hayden Pass Fire are being allowed to return home. 

The Hayden Pass Fire burning in Fremont County spans 16,414 acres.  The Fremont County Sheriff's office says the lightning-caused wildfire is now 30% contained.  908 personnel continue to work on the incident. 

Residents of CR 1A, the Eagle Peak Subdivision, CR 40 and the Fox Creek Subdivision will be allowed to return to their homes Tuesday morning, July 19, beginning at 8 AM.  The Fremont County Sheriff's Office requests those residents first go to Cotopaxi High School from 4-8 PM Monday for a registration, or from 8-noon Tuesday morning.

The weekend post for this incident is here. 

Friday's post about this incident is here. 

Thursday's post about this incident is here.

Wednesday's post for this incident is here. 

Tuesday's post for this incident is here.

Winter weather returns to Colorado this weekend as much of the state braces for heavy snowfall.

The El Paso County Office of Emergency Management is urging people stay home, especially in the northern and eastern parts of the county.  Currently, Highway 24 from Colorado Springs to Limon is closed.  Eastbound Woodman from Marksheffel to Highway 24 in Falcon is also closed, as is Highway 94 from Enoch Road to Punkin Center. (UPDATE 3:40 PM: Hwy 94 from Enoch Rd. to Punkin Center has reopened.)

Modified post:  

Northern El Paso County remains under a blizzard warning until 8 PM.  Southern El Paso County is under a Winter Weather Advisory until 6 PM.  Public safety groups are urging people to stay off the roads.

The fast-moving storm closed routes along the Front Range, including Interstate 25 from North Academy to County Line Road in Denver.  Check current route statuses here with the Colorado Department of Transportation.