What’s it like at the Aspen Acres fire line? Hear from a wildland firefighter

PUEBLO COUNTY, Colo. (KRDO) - For days, firefighters from all over the country have been working to protect people and structures put at risk by the Aspen Acres Fire.

"There's not really a way to explain very simply how humbling extreme wildfire behavior can be," Nicholai Allen, a wildlands firefighter, told KRDO13 over a Zoom Video Call on Friday.

→ Find the most up to date information on the Aspen Acres wildfire here

Allen would be the one to know. He has firsthand experience as a wildland firefighter. Allen was part of a squad designated to protect homes in the Palisades fire that burned up parts of California in 2025.

He says it's a cumulation of factors that make fighting an extreme wildfire like the Aspen Acres Fire challenging.

"It's not just the direct fire front. It's the low visibility, the toxic smoke in the air, " Allen said. "I would say that it is the most uncomfortable, always on super high adrenaline, job that I've ever done." Even without the fire, Allen points out that hiking through a rugged mountainous region in high wind conditions with all the fire gear would be challenging.

Added on top of that is the long hours. Fires don't take breaks, and Allen says it's not uncommon for wildland firefighters to work shifts of 24 hours or longer.

"I'd usually eat, like, only one time a day, maybe some snacks here and there, as it's allowed. But very often when you get into it and if you're doing structure triage and trying to, help people evacuate and save homes, you're not really thinking about eating at all, or sleeping," Allen said.

Surprisingly, Allen says he hasn't found it too difficult to sleep because the work of a wildland firefighter is so exhausting. Every wildland fire is different, but Allen says typically a trailer is brought in to a safe zone further away from the front line where firefighters can sleep in their off-shift.

When not fighting fires, Allen says he works to educate homeowners on how to keep their homes fire safe. He encourages mitigation work around the home and warns that it's not always the big wall fire that will ignite your property. It can be small embers that float into your home.