COLORADO CITY, Colo. (KOAA) — Smoke plumes and occasional flames are still visible on the hillsides just off the interchange between I-25 and Highway 165 in Colorado City, but some residents are finally heading home after being displaced by the Aspen Acres Fire.
For others, the wait continues.
Mary Davenport was on her way back home, reentry card in hand, when I spoke with her. To her, the days since evacuating have all blended together.
"It's all so scary," said Davenport. "I don't seem to remember how many days I've been out."
Davenport said she watched the fire approach before she left.
"We sat on the porch and saw it coming," said Davenport. "You could see how fast it was coming."
Her home survived, but her daughter, who also lives in town, is still waiting to reenter. Her daughter has two young children.
"It's really sad, she has two young kids," said Davenport.
At the Pueblo Academy of Arts, families lined up Tuesday to pick up their reentry cards. Among them were Allyx Townend and her family. Townend, her husband and their two children live in Rye and were caught off guard by the evacuation order.
"We had actually just gotten back from being out of town, then we were told to evacuate," said Townend.
Despite the disruption, Townend said she is holding onto hope.
"I will say, I'm a little hopeful the end is coming soon," said Townend.
Her thoughts, however, are also with those who were not as fortunate.
"I'm really devastated for a lot of our friends and neighbors who have lost their homes," said Townend.
For Loel Gray of Wetmore, this evacuation is nothing new.
"This is the sixth time we've been evacuated for fires," said Gray.
Gray said he has learned to cope with the uncertainty of what he will find when he returns.
"Fire is conducive to chaos," said Gray. "I've learned over the years, you can't give into that."
For many evacuees, the prospect of returning home is not met with pure excitement. Their feelings are mixed, as they think about neighbors who lost their homes in the Aspen Acres Fire.
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Good news and bad news on the seventh largest fire in Colorado history
The good news, some evacuations have been lifted for the Aspen Acres Fire. The bad news, the fire has now destroyed more than 260 homes and burned nearly 92,000 acres, making it the seventh largest fire in state history.
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