Officials are now reporting 1,000 acres have burned as of 8:45 p.m. Tuesday. At least 12 structures have burned according to Fremont County Sheriff's Office. They don't know for sure if all of those structures were homes.
We're told people evacuated from Wetmore and Greenwood Village will not be able to return to their homes Tuesday night.
The fire is just off of Hwy 96 near mile marker 24 west of Pueblo County.
The fire has now crossed the Custer/Pueblo County Line.
Colorado State Patrol says all roads leading into Wetmore are closed at this point. Both lanes of Highway 96 are closed in both directions at the Pueblo Reservoir. Highway 67 is closed from Florence to Wetmore. Those highways will remain closed throughout the night.
Evacuation Center has been set up at First Southern Baptist Church on East 3rd street in Florence.
The Pueblo County residents that have been asked to evacuate from their homes are able to go to a Red Cross reception Center at 84 Stanford, Church of the Nazarene. The shelter is only for evacuees of the Wetmore Fire.
Red Cross has established their Safe-N-Well website so citizens from both Custer and Pueblo County that have been evacuated can register as a way to let family and friends know they are safe.
Already 308 homes have been evacuated inside Pueblo County as well. The area evacuated is four miles into Pueblo County above Highway 96 W. The specific area is between North Creek Rd east to Siloam Road. Custer County has additional evacuations inside their county.
Citizens are urged to stay away from this area so emergency response vehicles can continue to safely respond.
Pueblo is also asking that residents do not call 911 to report heavy smoke in the area.
The Pueblo Fire Department is also on high alert at this moment due to the fire and extreme fire conditions. They are asking that residents refrain from any outdoor fires including smoking and charcoal grill use until this Red Flag condition has passed.
They are also advising residents they could be experiencing heavy smoke conditions.
Please DO NOT bring donations of any sort to the reception center. If you have things you’d like to donate it is important that the coordination for these items goes through the American Red Cross 719 561-2614.
If people being evacuated from the Wetmore fire need a place to put their livestock, the rodeo grounds in Canon City on 9th street is ready to go with feed, water, and room for campers if people need somewhere to set up. Call Julie 719-429-3934 or Boyd 719-252-3707 to let them know you are coming.
If anyone is in need of trailers or help evacuating horses from the area feel free to contact Tina Heffner at (719) 648-1562. She said she has access to trailers and can provide assistance
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