Wetmore fire evacuees in Custer County expected to return home Monday morning

CUSTER COUNTY, Colo. (KRDO) -- A segment of Highway 96 that had been closed during the Aspen Acres Fire will reopen on Monday so that evacuees can return to their homes, authorities said during a Sunday evening community meeting.

At 9 a.m., the highway between Siloam Road and County Road 305 is scheduled to reopen to provide access for residents of the town of Wetmore.

Twice during the fire, fire crews worked feverishly to protect the town from advancing flames, and authorities said that no homes were damaged there.

"There are no power lines or downed buildings," said Erik Sillitoe, the county's emergency management director. "100% re-entry, no ID cards. Wetmore will switch from a mandatory evacuation status to a pre-evacuation status."

The Greenwood area south of Wetmore remains under mandatory evacuation, Sillitoe explained, as high fire danger persists there.

He also said that later this week, authorities hope to allow residents to visit their homes in neighborhoods along Highway 165, north of Colorado City, which has been closed for most of the fire.

The protocol, Sillitoe said, will be for residents to meet at Mackenzie Junction (the intersection of Highways 165 and 96) and be escorted by sheriff's deputies into their neighborhoods via bus or van.

Re-entry passes will be available at Lange Hall (Hope Lutheran Church) in Westcliffe.

Highway 96 remains closed from Highway 67 west of Wetmore to Silver Cliff.