The Pueblo Board of County Commissioners passed a resolution on July 2 to declare a local disaster emergency for the Aspen Acres Fire.

The blaze was last mapped at 50,187 acres with no containment as of Thursday afternoon.

The BOCC resolution states that the cost and magnitude of responding to and recovering from the impacts of the fire are far in excess of Pueblo County’s available resources, so the purpose of the declaration is to "activate the response and recovery aspects of any and all applicable disaster emergency plans and to authorize the furnishing of aid and assistance."

The resolution states that the BOCC sought to enact the declaration to ensure financial aid is made available to affected individuals, businesses, and governmental entities "as applicable and pursuant to state law."

The BOCC will continue to vote to renew the declaration every week as long as the board deems the disaster is still in effect.

The declaration is similar to one put in place following the discovery of human remains at Davis Mortuary, Commissioner Miles Lucero noted.

"This opens us up to receive state reimbursements," Lucero said.

"There is a federal portion of this as well, where FEMA has declared this as a disaster, which has already opened the door to federal reimbursements on the back end. Every cost we're incurring in this will be reimbursed to some extent. We don't know the exact dollar amount -- we are still very much in the middle of this. But we've been in contact with the governor's office. They understand the priority."

Lucero said the declaration is "just the step the BOCC needs to take to formalize and open this disaster so we can get the financial aid we need for the foreseeable future."

Commissioner Paula McPheeters said the fire is "way beyond what we could ever do as a county."

She said that in the past, the county has not often had to declare a local disaster, and that having to enact two such declarations within one year of each other was "crazy."

"It's really an interesting time to be in this situation. But I just want folks to understand the length and breadth of the firefighting going on, the cost," she said. "This disaster declaration will be necessary so the county can do the work and get reimbursed for the work being done. This is an all-hands-on-deck situation, but it's nice to have our state and federal partners at the table with us as well."

At its July 2 meeting, the BOCC also ratified the Pueblo County sheriff's declaration of a Stage 2 fire ban,  prohibiting activities such as using a campfire or camp stove, including charcoal grills or barbecues, smoking outside, and the sale or use of any explosives, including fireworks, along with other activities that carry the risk of starting a wildfire.

"I think this is pretty self-explanatory," said Commissioner Zach Swearingen. "I think everyone can see why this is instituted."

During personal comments, the commissioners expressed pride in the community, sadness for the victims, and appreciation for all the firefighters, law enforcement, emergency medical personnel, and volunteers involved in fighting the massive wildfire.

"Last night, we were looking for a building to store donations," Swearingen said. "But some things fell through, and I called somebody, and a guy was literally saying, 'Yeah, you can use my 15,000-square-foot building with loading docks, no hesitation.' It's just an example of people being willing to come forward and start helping one another.

"What I've been trying to do at the end of each day is be grateful for the people we have, on our staff, in the sheriff's office, around the community, who are willing to just step up when something like this happens," Lucero said.

"I've been trying to stress to the community that we have really good, qualified, brave, smart people who are working on this. Thank goodness, because I don't know how to handle it ... I'm extremely grateful for those people. I'm extremely grateful for everyone in the community being willing to step up."

Justin Reutter covers public safety, county government, and business news for the Pueblo Chieftain. Contact Justin at jreutterma@gannett.com, or follow him on X @jayreutter1.Support local news; subscribe to the Pueblo Chieftain at subscribe.chieftain.com.

This article originally appeared on The Pueblo Chieftain: Pueblo County declares disaster, seeks aid for Aspen Acres Fire