The Aspen Acres fire plume towered over Custer and Pueblo counties on Thursday as the blaze continued to grow in size in extremely hot, dry and windy weather.

“I’ve been a firefighter for 40 years and I’ve never seen conditions like we’re seeing,” Mike Morgan, director of the Colorado Division of Fire Prevention and Control, said during a news conference Thursday as a thick, light brown haze could be seen over Pueblo’s skyline.

The blaze became the 10th-largest in Colorado history, having scorched 55,405 acres as of the most recent mapping operation and surpassing the 416 fire in 2018. The Aspen Acres fire covers 86.5 square miles, or more than half the size of Denver.

More than 200 structures have likely been lost in the Aspen Acres fire, but the extent of the damage is not fully known, Gov. Jared Polis said. The destruction in Beulah, a small town southwest of Pueblo, was hit-or-miss, with some houses left standing while others were destroyed, he said.

As of Thursday morning, seven large air tankers, 326 personnel and 14 water tenders were working the fire, the governor added.

The newly arrived Alaska Complex Incident Management Team 1 is calling for 17 hand crews, more than 100 engines, six dozers and 15 water tenders to help fight the fire. The 100 engines are coming from California, said Jake Livingston, the team’s commander.

The team planned to start clearing vegetation Friday morning for fire lines to help stop the spread of the fire, but those plans will be determined by the weather.

“Our biggest concern is just extreme weather events, you know, high winds, low humidity and rapid fire spread,” Livingston said.

The weather is expected to be intense on Friday, with temperatures over 100 degrees, Morgan said.

Livingston said crews will prioritize “point protection” by saving life and property. He added that the risk to the city of Pueblo is a “distant concern.”

Polis and other state officials said they were concerned about another fire starting in Colorado over the Fourth of July weekend, which could force critical firefighting resources away from the Aspen Acres fire. Firefighting crews from around the country have been split between large fires in Utah and Colorado in recent days.

“If you care about our state, if you care about our firefighters, do not use fireworks or other types of flames this Fourth of July,” Polis said.

The incident management team said on Thursday that the fire was human-caused, but Polis said investigators have yet to determine where the fire started.

“There is not going to be any information on that in the near future,” he said.

The fire began burning Monday morning. All evacuation orders are still in effect, including the towns of Beulah, Rye, Wetmore and much of Colorado City.

The evacuation orders have since extended toward Interstate 25 following the fire’s progression into Pueblo County. Pre-evacuation orders were issued for some residents in Fremont and Huerfano counties late Wednesday.

At around midnight Thursday, Rusty Cates and his mother, Phyllis Cockerham, arrived in Colorado City from Texas in a truck pulling an RV. The two planned to camp somewhere near Colorado City, with Cates hoping to get in a few rounds of golf at the Hollydot Golf Course.

Instead, the two spent the night in their RV in the golf course parking lot, watching the orange glow of the fire against the midnight sky.

“It was lit up all ablaze,” Cates said.

The fire made Cockerham “apprehensive,” but being surrounded by the lush greens of the golf course made her feel a little better, she said.

In Custer County, the fire spread within a few miles of Bishop Castle on Wednesday. Officials at the historical site pleaded for airdrops on Thursday.

“Please send water drops to the area around Bishop Castle! Please!!!!!! Custer County Sheriff’s office!! Please focus on Bishop Castle ASAP!!!” the Bishop Castle Facebook page states.

In Colorado City, Greenhorn Valley Ace Hardware was open Thursday despite a towering smoke plume visible through the business’ window. Owner Tricia Proctor provided supplies to residents preparing to flee the fire, including trailer equipment to those who need to move livestock at a moment’s notice. Proctor has co-owned the business since 2000 after she and her siblings purchased it from their parents.

She knows many members of what is usually a “busy little town,” she said.

“It’s just heart-wrenching,” Proctor told The Gazette.

Likewise in Beulah, which is surrounded by the fire’s perimeter, the general store remained open for firefighters on Thursday, according to a post on social media by Debbie Rose, the store’s owner.

“Please be safe where you are and know my family, my store and even the Post Office are looking forward to seeing you when it is safe to return,” Rose wrote on social media.

Reentry for residents of the Beulah area will likely take several days as fire crews continue to keep flames away from the remaining homes, according to the Beulah Fire Protection and Ambulance District.

As of Thursday morning, the town was without water and electrical services in addition to having unstable trees, damaged power lines, compromised gas lines and unsafe roads.

Beulah’s school and post office remain intact without smoke damage, Polis said.