Update 4:30 p.m. -- The Beulah Hill fire has not grown in size Tuesday but fire officials said they will bring in additional resources because of the complicated nature of the blaze. A Type 2 fire crew will take over the response early Wednesday morning to provide additional equipment and personnel. There were no new evacuations Tuesday afternoon and weather conditions were favorable with lower winds. The town of Beulah remains under evacuation orders from the fire that broke out on Monday and spread quickly.
Update 12:52 p.m. -- The size of the Beluah Hill Fire has been revised following an overflight from the state's multi-mission aircraft. According the the incident command the fire size is 4,800 acres burned. This corrects the earlier estimate of 8,000 acres.
Incident command reports 4,800 acres burned in #beulahhillfire
Update 11:10 a.m. -- The size of the Beulah Hill Fire has been updated to about 8,000 acres and a Type 2 Incident Management Team has been ordered.
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Authorities say a wind-whipped wildfire southwest of Pueblo has destroyed several structures and forced evacuations east of the town of Beulah.
Pueblo County sheriff's officials say residents in a 2-mile radius of the Hurricane Ranch area were forced from their homes Monday afternoon, and students at Beulah School were taken to another school. High winds are making it hard for firefighters to size up and attack the fire.
The sheriff's office did not say what caused the fire or what types of structures were destroyed. According to the Colorado Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, the overnight size of the Beulah Hill Fire was 3,000 acres with no containment. No fatalities or injuries have been reported. The evacuation shelters for the fire are located at Roncalli Middle School and the Southwest Motors Events Center.
As of Tuesday morning, authorities are asking that drones or other types of aerial devices not be sent into the area as they will interfere with fire air support. Pueblo County Undersheriff J.R. Hall said having anything else in the air will “cause a conflict for our ability to fight the fire.”
“We have a small window to get air support and if there are other devices in the air that support will be grounded,” Hall said.
As noted by the state’s Division of Fire Prevention and Control, one of Colorado’s multi-mission aircraft is currently lending infrared support to the fire.
