Aspen Acres Fire forces evacuation orders in southeastern Colorado
1-minute Mesoscale Domain Sector GOES-18 (GOES-West) GeoColor RGB images (above) showed the dense smoke plume associated with the Aspen Acres Fire in southeastern Colorado on 29 June 2026. As the smoke plume drifted northeast across the Pueblo Airport, it restricted the surface visibility to 2 miles at times.
1-minute GOES-18 GeoColor RGB images with plots of surface observations (below) depicted wind gusts of 49-51 mph near the source of the wildfire early in the day. Mandatory evacuation orders were issued for several communities in the vicinity of this fast-moving fire.
1-minute GOES-18 GeoColor RGB images with an overlay of Next Generation Fire System (NGFS) Fire Detection polygons (below) displayed the wildfire’s large and very hot thermal signature.
The thermal signature of the Aspen Acres Fire was also very apparent in GOES-18 Day Land Cloud Fire RGB images (below).