The Aspen Acres fire has destroyed about 850 structures, making it among the most destructive in state history, fire officials said Friday.

Firefighters count all structures lost in a fire, including barns and sheds, while county officials have focused on tallying homes.

Despite the number of structures lost, “There were a lot of good saves,” said Brad Washa, section chief for the incident management team overseeing the fire.

The Pueblo County Sheriff’s Office has evaluated 661 properties inside the burn scar, and 254 homes have been destroyed, spokeswoman Gayle Perez said. Four businesses also burned in the fire. She said the number of properties inside the burn scar could rise.

In Custer County, 83 homes burned, about 2% of all the homes in the county, Sheriff Rich Smith said earlier this week.

The 2021 Marshall fire was the state’s most destructive, destroying 1,084 homes in Boulder County, according to the Colorado Division of Fire Prevention and Control.

The Aspen Acres fire has burned 97,083 acres and is 28% contained on its eastern and southeastern boundary near Colorado City, a significant jump from recent days, the incident team’s report said. It was 20% contained Thursday night.

About 1,900 people are assigned to the fire, a number that’s been steadily rising since the fire started June 29. The team now includes nine hotshot crews, more than 130 engines, 26 dozers and more than 15 aircraft, said Incident Commander Jake Livingston.

The Pueblo County Sheriff’s Office lifted evacuation orders across a large area on the southeastern side of the fire during the day Friday, allowing many people to return home.

Deputies lifted evacuation orders for 3R Road, Signal Mountain, Colorado City, Lake Beckwith to Crow Cutoff and locations east of Colorado 165 to Ray Boulevard.

The areas remain under pre-evacuation, Sheriff David Lucero said, and residents should remain ready to leave.

He acknowledged that residents in Rye and Beulah are likely eager to return home, but fire conditions must stabilize before that’s allowed, he said.

“We understand how difficult and stressful this situation has been,” he said.

The Red Cross is supplying residents returning home with kits to help protect them from the carcinogens left behind by the fire, said John Seward, a spokesman for the nonprofit. Residents can pick up the kits at each of the reentry points, he said.

The kits include gloves, masks, trash bags and other protective gear for residents to use as they determine what they can salvage from their homes, he said.

The kits are designed for homes that were not completely lost.

The homes that burned hot may not have much left in them to salvage, he said, as fire will consume wood, plastic and ceramic.

He advised residents to protect their lungs and skin from the contaminants.

“Put some separation between the air you are breathing and the soot and the ash,” he said.

Clothes worn while working on sites can also pick up contaminants and should be washed, he said.