An Aspen tree falling on energized powerlines was the catalyst for the Aspen Acres fire, investigators with the Colorado Division of Fire Prevention and Control found in a final investigation report obtained by the Scripps News Group and Gazette news partner KOAA.
The fire grew to more than 100,000 acres in Pueblo and Custer counties, burning hundreds of homes and becoming Colorado’s seventh-largest wildfire. One person died in flash flooding this summer caused by the ensuing burn scar. The blaze is 82% contained, according to the most recent update.
According to investigators, the fire started during high winds in the early morning hours of June 29. An uprooted Aspen tree hit powerlines about 200 feet west of Colorado 165 at mile marker 17, southwest of the intersection of Colorado 165 and Custer Drive…