Evacuations ongoing for Spring Creek fire northeast of Aspen

People living northeast of Aspen are still under mandatory evacuation orders because of a wildfire burning near the Eagle and Pitkin county lines in Colorado's White River National Forest, federal officials said Wednesday.

The Spring Creek fire is burning on 20 acres northeast of Ruedi Reservoir, about 15 miles northeast of Aspen, the U.S. Forest Service said in a 6 p.m. update.

The fire, initially called the Thomasville fire, was reported just before 2 p.m. Tuesday and quickly caused Eagle County officials to order mandatory evacuations in the area.

People living along Eagle-Thomasville Road, also known as Crooked Creek Pass, should leave the area immediately, county officials said. The evacuation zone includes land north of Brush Creek Road and south of Crooked Creek.

Roughly 95 firefighters were fighting the fire as of Wednesday and working to build handlines while dealing with a large number of "snags," or hazardous dead trees, which takes more time.

"Strong afternoon winds on the Spring Creek Fire created challenges for firefighters, limiting the support of the heavy helicopter and forcing firefighters to disengage because of the risk of falling snags," forest service officials said on social media.

There is no containment on the fire and the cause is under investigation, according to the agency.

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