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List of Colorado wildfires

A map showing the location of the U.S. State of Colorado.
The location of the State of Colorado in the United States of America.

This is a partial list of wildfires in the U.S. State of Colorado which have occurred periodically throughout its recorded history.[1]

One of the most significant fires in United States history was The Big Blowup of 1910.[2] In that fire, 3 million acres burned and 78 firefighters were killed in the northern Rocky Mountains (in the states of Washington, Idaho, and Montana) which led to a standing policy in Colorado of all fires out by 10 am.[3] The policy evolved over the 20th century.

The Colorado State Forest Service was established by the Colorado General Assembly in 1955 and oversees response to wildfires in Colorado.[not verified in body]

Part of the 2002 Colorado wildfires that burned nearly 360,000 acres, the Hayman Fire, was the largest wildfire in Colorado state history for nearly 20 years[4][5] until the Pine Gulch Fire surpassed it in August 2020.[6] The Cameron Peak Fire became the largest wildfire in Colorado history seven weeks later, at a size of 206,667 burned acres as of October 21, 2020. The 2012 Colorado forest fires broke the record for most destructive fire twice and led to declaration of a federal disaster area in June 2012.[7] The 2013 Colorado forest fires, fueled by high heat and winds[8] again broke the record for the most destructive and included what was the second largest fire (by area) in Colorado history until being surpassed by several fires in 2020. With multiple record-breaking fires, the 2020 Colorado wildfire season became the largest in the state's history after burning 665,454 acres (269,300 ha).[9]

List of fires

This list only covers the largest, most destructive fires in Colorado history. Colorado State University (CSU) has information on named fires from 1976 to 2006[10] and total wildfires from 1960 to 2009.[11] According to CSU, wildfires in Colorado burned less than 100,000 acres (40,469 ha) per decade over the 1960s and the 1970s. For the 1980s and 1990s, the total was over 200,000 acres (80,937 ha) per decade. For the 2000s, the total was approximately 200,000 acres (80,937 ha). Notable fires from before 1980 are also included, sourced mainly from old newspapers and records. All fires greater than 40,000 acres (16,187 ha) and all but one over 20,000 acres (8,094 ha) occurred in the 21st century. Acreage of fires that are partly in Colorado are indicated in red.

See also

References

  1. ^ Colorado State Forest Service. Wildfire Policy in Transition: Where There's Smoke, There's Mirrors. Archived 2010-06-11 at the Wayback Machine
  2. ^ Colorado State Forest Service. History of Significant Fires on State And Private Lands (acreage and/or home loss and/or fatalities). Archived 2013-11-08 at the Wayback Machine
  3. ^ Colorado State Forest Service. Presentation on Wildfire Policy in Transition Archived 2010-06-11 at the Wayback Machine
  4. ^ Colorado State Forest Service. Colorado Wildfires, State & Private Lands, 1978–2009. Archived 2010-06-13 at the Wayback Machine
  5. ^ Colorado State Forest Service.Colorado Wildfires Broken Down By Decade (with charts). Archived 2013-06-26 at the Wayback Machine
  6. ^ a b c Pine Gulch fire becomes largest in Colorado history as firefighters near full containment, Colorado Sun, 27 August 2020, accessed 28 August 2020.
  7. ^ Associated Press (June 29, 2012). Obama declares disaster in Colorado as fires burn. Fox News
  8. ^ "Fire 30% contained, 473 homes burned". Denver Post. Retrieved 15 June 2013.
  9. ^ Ingold, John (October 20, 2020). "Five charts that show where 2020 ranks in Colorado wildfire history". Colorado Sun. Retrieved June 27, 2021.
  10. ^ "fire history.xls" (PDF). Colorado State University. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-11-08. Retrieved 2013-07-01.
  11. ^ "Colorado Wildfires State and Private Lands" (PDF). Colorado State University. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-06-26. Retrieved 2013-07-01.
  12. ^ "Pike-San Isabel National Forests & Cimarron and Comanche National Grasslands - Payne Gulch Trail #637". Fs.usda.gov. Retrieved 2022-09-16.
  13. ^ a b c Year book of the State of Colorado. Yearbook of the State of Colorado. Brock-Haffner Press. 1918.
  14. ^ "Black Tiger Fire Case Study" (PDF). Fire investigations. NFPA fire investigations – Natural disasters. Quincy, Massachusetts: National Fire Protection Association. 1990.
  15. ^ "Courage and shock still resonate 25 years after deadly Storm King Mountain fire". The Oregonian. 5 July 2019. Retrieved 2020-09-29.
  16. ^ "Investigators: Cigarette caused Hi Meadow fire". Denver Post. Retrieved 2018-06-29.
  17. ^ "larimer county 2016 multi-jurisdictional hazard mitigation plan" (PDF). larimer county colorado. Retrieved 7 October 2020.
  18. ^ "Northern Colorado Regional Hazard Mitigation Plan". larimer county colorado. Retrieved 16 October 2020.
  19. ^ "Case Study: Hayman Fire, Hayman Colorado". American Planning Association. Retrieved 2018-06-29.
  20. ^ "Fourmile Fire". CBS Denver. 15 September 2010. Retrieved 2018-06-29.
  21. ^ "Firefighters at Crystal fire prepare for Red Flag Warning". Wildfire Today. 5 April 2011. Retrieved 7 October 2020.
  22. ^ "Update on Crystal fire in Colorado". Wildfire Today. 4 April 2011. Retrieved 7 October 2020.
  23. ^ "Hewlett Fire Summary of Management Activities" (PDF). Rocky Mountain Area IMT2. Retrieved 7 October 2020.
  24. ^ Kirk Mitchell (2018-07-04). "Updated for 2018: 20 largest wildfires in Colorado history by acreage burned". The Denver Post. Retrieved 2020-10-10.
  25. ^ John Ingold (26 June 2012). "Colorado wildfire: Last Chance, residents stand tall after huge wildfire". The Denver Post. Retrieved 16 October 2020.
  26. ^ Allie Swennes (26 June 2012). "Last Chance fire 100 percent contained; 45,000 acres burnt in Washington County". Fort Morgan Times. Retrieved 16 October 2020.
  27. ^ Eric Gorski (17 June 2013). "Black Forest fire near Colorado Springs at 75 % containment". The Denver Post. Retrieved 2013-07-01.
  28. ^ "Black Forest Fire 100% Contained; Neighborhoods Open To Residents". Kktv.com. Retrieved 2013-07-01.
  29. ^ "Major fire erupts in Royal Gorge area: 3,800 acres burning".
  30. ^ "East Peak Fire". InciWeb.
  31. ^ a b "Colorado Wildfire Report: July 8". Colorado Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management. Retrieved 8 July 2013.
  32. ^ "West Fork Fire West Update". Archuleta County Emergency Information. Retrieved 24 June 2013.
  33. ^ "inciweb: West Fork Complex Update". inciweb. Retrieved 24 June 2013.
  34. ^ Ryan Parker (July 5, 2013). "West Fork Fire Complex 25 percent contained, 110,028 acres burned". The Denver Post. Retrieved 7 August 2016.
  35. ^ "Officials confirm 23 homes destroyed in 117 Fire". Wildfire Today. 19 April 2018. Retrieved 15 October 2020.
  36. ^ "2 1/2 Months Later, Spring Fire Now 100% Contained". 10 September 2018.
  37. ^ "Spring Fire 91 percent contained, at least 145 homes burned". FOX31 Denver. 2018-07-12. Retrieved 2018-07-13.
  38. ^ "Spring Creek fire: Denmark man staying in U.S. on expired visa charged with 141 counts of arson in connection with wildfire". The Denver Post. 2018-07-12. Retrieved 2018-07-13.
  39. ^ "National Large Incident Year-to-Date Report" (PDF). Retrieved 7 October 2020.
  40. ^ "inciweb: East Canyon Fire Information". National Interagency Fire Center. Retrieved 8 September 2020.
  41. ^ "inciweb: Pine Gulch Fire Information". National Interagency Fire Center. Retrieved 31 August 2020.
  42. ^ a b c d e f "National Large Incident YTD Report" (PDF). gacc.nifc.gov.
  43. ^ "inciweb: Grizzly Creek Fire Information". National Interagency Fire Center. Retrieved 31 August 2020.
  44. ^ "inciweb: Cameron Peak Fire Update". National Interagency Fire Center. Retrieved 25 October 2020.
  45. ^ "inciweb: Cameron Peak Fire Update". National Interagency Fire Center. Retrieved 10 October 2020.
  46. ^ Kayli Plotner (19 August 2020). "The 20 largest wildfires in Colorado history by acreage burned, updated for 2020". The Denver Post. Retrieved 15 October 2020.
  47. ^ Blumhardt, Miles. "Cameron Peak Fire at 97% containment; East Troublesome Fire reaches full containment". The Coloradoan. Retrieved 2020-12-15.
  48. ^ a b "AirNow Fire and Smoke Map, EPA".
  49. ^ "Lewstone Fire burning in Larimer Country, NW of Fort Collins". KDVR FOX31. 22 August 2020. Retrieved 23 August 2020.
  50. ^ "CBS Denver News: Lewstone Fire Now Fully Contained In Larimer County". 25 August 2020. Retrieved 9 September 2020.
  51. ^ "Mullen Fire Public Information Map 10-1-2020 – InciWeb the Incident Information System".
  52. ^ "inciweb: Mullen Fire Information". National Interagency Fire Center. Retrieved 3 October 2020.
  53. ^ "East Troublesome Fire Incident Overview". National Interagency Fire Center. Retrieved 25 October 2020.
  54. ^ "East Troublesome Fire Incident Overview". National Interagency Fire Center. Retrieved 24 October 2020.
  55. ^ "Calwood Fire Incident Overview". National Interagency Fire Center. Retrieved 25 October 2020.
  56. ^ "Lefthand Canyon Fire Incident Overview". National Interagency Fire Center. Retrieved 25 October 2020.
  57. ^ "RM GACC Home".
  58. ^ Boulder County fire is most destructive in state history after burning at least 500 structures
  59. ^ PHOTOS: Marshall fire burns in Boulder County, damaging hundreds of homes
  60. ^ Marshall Fire: At least three missing, feared dead; 991 homes destroyed
  61. ^ Boulder County releases updated list of structures damaged and destroyed in the Marshall Fire

External links

38°59′50″N 105°32′52″W / 38.9972°N 105.5478°W / 38.9972; -105.5478 (State of Colorado)