Colorado wildfires

The Colorado Fire, which burned 687 acres near Big Sur in Monterey County, was first reported January 21, 2022 and is 100 percent contained as of February 5, 2022. The wildfire burned in the Palo Colorado area between Big Sur and Carmel-by-the-Sea, and was sparked by an escaped pile burn. Evacuation Orders were issued for the Palo Colorado Community on January 21, 2022 and lifted on January 26, 2022. No injuries or casualties have been reported in the blaze, and all evacuation orders and road closures have been lifted.

One of the most destructive wildfires in Colorado history, the East Troublesome Fire began on October 14, 2020, in the central Rocky Mountains east of Troublesome Creek in Grand County. A week later, high winds whipped the fire into a 100,000-acre inferno racing northeast through Grand Lake and into Rocky Mountain National Park. By the time snows and colder temperatures halted the fire in late October, it had killed two people, destroyed more than 400 houses and other structures, and burned 193,812 acres, making it the second-largest fire in state history. 

The fire is believed to be human-caused but remains under investigation. Parts of Rocky Mountain National Park remained closed through the week of Thanksgiving. The East Troublesome Fire was the third record-breaking fire of 2020, with all three blazes surpassing 130,000 acres.

The Cameron Peak Fire is the largest wildfire in Colorado history. It began on August 13, 2020, and burned 208,913 acres of the Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forests in western Larimer County. Thought to be human-caused, the fire ignited on the flanks of Cameron Peak some forty miles west of Fort Collins. After staying under 25,000 acres for three weeks, persistent dry conditions and high winds caused two major blowups—one on Labor Day weekend, when the fire ran some 80,000 acres, and another on October 14-17, when it made a 30,000-acre run toward Fort Collins followed by a 25,000-acre run toward the Big Thompson Canyon and Estes Park.

Although no one died, the fire burned some 469 structures, including 224 houses, and forced thousands of evacuations. For three months, the Cameron Peak Fire created toxic air quality along the Front Range from Greeley to Denver. The fire’s effects on the Cache la Poudre watershed are yet to be determined, but it is clear that forest and community recovery will likely take many years.

The Pine Gulch Fire was ignited by a lightning strike on July 31, 2020, about eighteen miles north of Grand Junction in Garfield and Mesa Counties. Over the next month, the fire grew to encompass more than 139,000 acres, making it the third-largest wildfire in Colorado history.

The Pine Gulch Fire burned simultaneously with several other fires across the state as part of a record-breaking 2020 wildfire season in the United States. For a time, the Pine Gulch Fire was the largest in Colorado history, until the Cameron Peak Fire displaced it in September. Fire conditions were influenced by high temperatures, low humidity, and high winds amid a statewide drought proclaimed in early August. Most structural damage was avoided, and while the Pine Gulch Fire did not directly threaten communities, it forced hundreds to evacuate, caused toxic air quality in Grand Junction, and cost $34 million to fight.

Started by an illegal campfire on June 27, 2018, the Spring Creek Fire raced across 108,045 acres of forested foothills in southern Colorado, near La Veta Pass on the eastern edge of the San Luis Valley. By the time it was fully contained on September 10, the Spring Creek blaze was the third-largest wildfire in state history. It destroyed 141 structures and cost more than $32 million to fight.

Ignited by embers from a coal-fueled passenger train on June 1, 2018, the 416 Fire burned 54,130 acres of the San Juan National Forest in southwest Colorado. By the time it was fully contained on July 31, it had become the sixth-largest wildfire in Colorado history. Although the fire briefly threatened the communities of Hermosa and Durango, nobody was hurt and no structures were damaged.

The West Fork Complex refers to three separate wildfires ignited by lightning strikes in southern Colorado’s San Juan Mountains in June 2013. The West Fork, Windy Pass, and Papoose Fires broke out between June 5 and June 19. By the time they were contained on July 15, the three blazes scorched a total of 109,049 acres of public and private land in Mineral and Hinsdale Counties. The complex is the third-largest wildfire in Colorado history and cost about $33 million to fight.

Ignited by lightning in early June 2012, the High Park Fire became one of the largest and most destructive wildfires in Colorado history, burning 87,415 acres along the Cache la Poudre River in the mountains west of Fort Collins. By the time it was fully contained on June 30, the High Park Fire had destroyed more than 250 houses and killed one person. Insured property losses totaled more than $113 million.

The Missionary Ridge Fire occurred in Southwest Colorado during an unusually dry year and spread really quickly. Experts believe that sparks from a car dragging its muffler caused the incident. The fire covered an area of 6,500 acres on the first day alone. It also destroyed more than 46 homes in the area and led to the death of one firefighter. 

Begun on June 8, 2002, after a US Forest Service employee started a fire at a campsite, the Hayman Fire is the fourth-largest wildfire in Colorado history. Across a wide swath of foothills between South Park and Colorado Springs, the fire burned nearly 138,000 acres—including 60,000 in just one day—and destroyed more than 600 structures, including 133 houses. The fire also led to the deaths of five firefighters who died in a vehicle crash and one woman who suffered a fatal asthma attack after smoke inhalation.