2026 Colorado wildfires

2026 Colorado wildfires
Aerial view of the Ferris Fire on June 28
Statistics
Burned area~235,000 acres
Impacts
Deaths3
Injuries2
Structures destroyed850
← 2025

The 2026 Colorado wildfire season has included a significant number of wildfires in Colorado.

Background

While "fire season" varies every year in Colorado, most wildfires occur in between May and September. However, there is an increasing fire danger in winter months. Fire conditions can be exacerbated by drought, strong winds, and vegetation growth. Climate change is leading to increased temperatures, lower humidity levels, and drought conditions are happening more often. Additionally, warmer temperatures and less precipitation can result in less snowmelt, further contributing to bad wildfire conditions.

Colorado had one of its lowest snowpacks on record during the 2025-26 North American winter due to warm and dry conditions, particularly in the western part of the state. These conditions left Colorado more vulnerable to wildfires then usual.

During June 2026, multiple major wildfires sparked across the southern half of the state a few days after wildfires in Utah exploded in size and intensity, with the Aspen Acres Fire growing to be the largest in the state, and more favorable weather conditions have damage assessments ongoing across the area.

List of wildfires

The following is a list of fires that burned more than 1,000 acres (400 ha), produced significant structural damage, or resulted in casualties.

Name County Acres Start date Containment date Notes Ref.
County Road 89 Morgan, Weld 1,092 February 17 February 17
County Road 169 Highway 24 Elbert, Lincoln 5,599 February 17 February 18
Dahlberg Douglas 1,081 February 24 February 24
113 Logan 5,126 February 25 February 25
Range 121 El Paso 1,100 March 15 March 16
Nineteen El Paso 1,600 March 18 March 19
24 Pueblo, Fremont, El Paso 7,405 March 18 April 2 Closed and prompted several evacuations near State Highway 115 for multiple days.
Schwachheim Las Animas 1,582 April 12 April 24 Burned southeast of Trinidad.
Highway 36 Yuma 1,000 April 13 April 13 Closed Highway 36.
Hammer El Paso 4,958 April 22 April 24 Prompted evacuations for Hanover and closed schools in Hanover School District 28.
Poitrey Canyon Las Animas 2,113 April 24 May 3 Human-caused. Burned 45 miles (72 km) south of La Junta.
Ferris Montezuma, Dolores 64,881 June 27 August 6 Merged with Far Draw and Doe Canyon fires on June 28. Prompting evacuations for campgrounds northeast of Pleasant View over a time frame of several days.
Snyder Mesa, Grand (UT) 28,264 June 27 July 17 Knowles Fire kills four helitack firefighters. The Knowles Fire soon merged with the Jones, Snyder Mesa, and Gore fires in Utah to form the combined Snyder Fire
Gold Mountain Ouray39,718 June 27
87%
 Burning 1.3 miles north of Ouray along U.S. Route 550, forced numerous evacuations as it grew to the north. Pilot Nicholas Dale dies on July 12 as his Kaman K-1200 helicopter crashes into Silver Jack Reservoir while fighting wildfire.
Willow Lake7,533 June 28
80%
 Burning below Mount Massive, forced evacuations west of Leadville.
Aspen Acres Custer, Pueblo, Huerfano102,004 June 29
82%
 Burned across State Highway 78, threatening Colorado City, Beulah, and structures in several other evacuation zones, including in Fremont County. Destroyed over 850 structures including 319 homes.
Sheep Head Huerfano 1,322 June 29 July 5 Burned west of Sheep Mountain. Prompting pre-evacuations near State Highway 69 and Farisita.
Elk Gunnison 7,257 July 9
73%
 Lightning–caused. Burning 6.5 miles (10.5 km) north of Lake City and prompting evacuations.
P-L Gulch Rio Blanco 1,580 July 13 July 25 Human-caused. Burned 20 miles (32 km) southwest of Meeker and prompted evacuations.
Big Gulch Moffat 1,055 July 19 July 25 Unknown cause. Burned northwest of Craig and causing power outages.
Keystone Moffat, Rio Blanco 3,042 July 21 July 28 Lightning-caused. Burned 20 miles (32 km) northwest of Meeker.
Fuhr Gulch Moffat 1,650 July 21 July 30 Lightning-caused. Burning in Craig. Destroyed two structures.
Mt. Carmel Baca 2,000 July 23 July 25 Burned in Campo. Forward progress stopped on July 24.
Rio Blanco Archuleta 1,388 July 28 August 18 Lightning-caused. Burned south of Pagosa Springs and prompting evacuations.
Post Las Animas 4,343 August 11
90%
 Lightning-caused. Burning in Fishers Peak State Park and closing all trails in the park.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Colorado Fire Season: In-Depth Guide". wfca.com. Western Fire Chiefs Association. Retrieved May 25, 2025.
  2. ↑ Longwell, Ali (February 26, 2026). "Colorado considers earlier than normal activation of Drought Task Force as snowpack continues to lag behind". Aspen Times. Retrieved March 24, 2026.
  3. ↑ Coffield, Dana (July 5, 2026). "Damage assessment teams begin work in Aspen Acres fire zone as weather gives firefighters an edge". The Colorado Sun. Retrieved July 5, 2026.
  4. ↑ Press, Associated (July 5, 2026). "3 firefighters killed in Colorado remembered for their bravery as wildfires churn in the West". Fort Wayne Journal Gazette. Retrieved July 5, 2026.
  5. ↑ "County Road 89 Fire Map". Watch Duty. Retrieved February 18, 2026.
  6. ↑ "County Rd 169 Hwy 24 Fire Map". Watch Duty. Retrieved February 17, 2026.
  7. ↑ "Dahlberg Fire Map". Watch Duty. Retrieved February 24, 2026.
  8. ↑ "Dahlberg Fire burns more than 1,000 acres in rural part of Colorado's Douglas County, evacuations lifted - CBS Colorado". www.cbsnews.com. February 24, 2026. Retrieved June 8, 2026.
  9. ↑ "113 Fire Map". Watch Duty. Retrieved February 25, 2026.
  10. ↑ "Range 121 Fire Map". Watch Duty. Retrieved March 17, 2026.
  11. ↑ "Nineteen Fire Map". Watch Duty. Retrieved March 17, 2026.
  12. ↑ "24 Fire Map". Watch Duty. Retrieved April 1, 2026.
  13. ↑ Luebke, Rick (March 26, 2026). "24 Fire". 5280Fire. Retrieved June 8, 2026.
  14. ↑ Hulting, Aidan (March 25, 2026). "24 Fire 86 percent contained, remains at over 7000 acres, Highway 115 back open". KOAA News 5. Retrieved June 8, 2026.
  15. ↑ Smith, Nick (March 25, 2026). "Wednesday 24 fire update: Crews make 'great' progress on containment; cause released". Colorado Springs Gazette. Retrieved June 8, 2026.
  16. ↑ "Schwachheim Fire Map". Watch Duty. Retrieved April 21, 2026.
  17. ↑ "News Release: Governor Polis Verbally Declares Emergency in Response to Schwachheim Fire Near Trinidad | Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management". dhsem.colorado.gov. Retrieved June 8, 2026.
  18. ↑ "Highway 36 Fire Map". Watch Duty. Retrieved April 14, 2026.
  19. ↑ "Hammer Fire Map". Watch Duty. Retrieved April 24, 2026.
  20. ↑ Prentzel, Olivia (April 23, 2026). "Evacuation order lifted for wildfire burning southeast of Colorado Springs". The Colorado Sun. Retrieved April 24, 2026.
  21. ↑ "Poitrey Canyon Fire Map". Watch Duty. Retrieved April 28, 2026.
  22. ↑ "Poitrey Canyon Fire burning in Las Animas County burns more than 2K acres". Daily Dispatch. April 28, 2026. Retrieved April 28, 2026.
  23. ↑ "Lt. Governor Primavera Memorializes Verbal Disaster Declaration For Poitrey Canyon Fire in Las Animas County | Colorado Governor Jared Polis". governorsoffice.colorado.gov. Retrieved June 8, 2026.
  24. ↑ "Ferris Fire Map". Watch Duty. Retrieved June 28, 2026.
  25. ↑ Duran, Bailey (June 27, 2026). "Blazes northeast of Pleasant View total 5,800 acres; no homes threatened". The Durango Herald. Retrieved June 28, 2026.
  26. ↑ "Ferris Fire, Inciweb". inciweb.wildfire.gov. July 8, 2026. Retrieved July 8, 2026.
  27. ↑ "Snyder Fire Map". WatchDuty. Retrieved June 28, 2026.
  28. ↑ "4th firefighter dies from burn injuries battling Colorado's Knowles wildfire". CBS News. July 25, 2026. Retrieved July 26, 2026.
  29. ↑ "Watch Duty - Wildfire Maps & Alerts". Watch Duty. Retrieved June 29, 2026.
  30. ↑ "Residents in Ouray, Colorado hopeful as Gold Mountain Fire moves away from the town - CBS Colorado". www.cbsnews.com. Retrieved June 30, 2026.
  31. ↑ "Gold Mountain fire, Inciweb". inciweb.wildfire.gov. July 8, 2026. Retrieved July 8, 2026.
  32. ↑ "Specialized helicopter that crashed while fighting wildfire near Ouray belonged to Georgia company". Colorado Sun. July 13, 2026. Retrieved July 27, 2026.
  33. ↑ "Watch Duty - Wildfire Maps & Alerts". Watch Duty. Retrieved June 29, 2026.
  34. ↑ Braithwaite, Michael (June 28, 2026). "Mandatory evacuations near Leadville as Willow Fire grows to over 1K acres". Denver Gazette. Retrieved June 29, 2026.
  35. ↑ "Latest damage assessment of Aspen Acres fire lowers total homes destroyed, containment hits 61%". The Gazette. July 17, 2026. Retrieved July 27, 2026.
  36. ↑ "Aspen Acres Wildfire Colorado | 2026". WildfireSignal.com. Retrieved September 28, 2026.
  37. ↑ Davis, Bradley (June 29, 2026). "'Aspen Acres' fire approximately 23,000 acres in Pueblo County". KRDO. Retrieved June 30, 2026.
  38. ↑ "Wildfire drives evacuations in southern Colorado, burns nearly 23,000 acres". June 29, 2026.
  39. ↑ Chalfin, Andrea (July 6, 2026). "Aspen Acres fire: More than 1,300 personnel assigned to firefighting efforts". KRCC. Retrieved July 6, 2026.
  40. ↑ Prentzel, Olivia (July 6, 2026). "Aspen Acres destruction climbs to 263 homes lost in Pueblo, Custer counties". The Colorado Sun. Retrieved July 7, 2026.
  41. ↑ "Sheep Head Fire Map". Watch Duty. Retrieved June 30, 2026.
  42. ↑ Hulting, Aidan; Gavato, James (June 29, 2026). "Pre-evacuations ordered in Huerfano County as Big Sheep Fire continues to burn". KOAA-TV. Retrieved June 30, 2026.
  43. ↑ "Elk Wildfire Colorado | 2026". WildfireSignal.com. Retrieved September 28, 2026.
  44. ↑ Penington, Lauren; Langford, Katie (July 15, 2026). "Colorado wildfires: New evacuations for Elk fire near Lake City, east of Gold Mountain fire". The Denver Post. Retrieved July 16, 2026.
  45. ↑ "P-L Fire Map". Watch Duty. Retrieved July 17, 2026.
  46. ↑ Sinclair, Breana (July 15, 2026). "PL Gulch Fire grows to over 1,400 acres in Rio Blanco County". KREX-TV. Retrieved July 17, 2026.
  47. ↑ "Big Gulch Fire Map". Watch Duty. Retrieved July 20, 2026.
  48. ↑ Camponeschi, John (July 19, 2026). "Big Gulch Fire prompts power shutoff, burns 1,600 acres north of Craig". Craig Daily Press. Retrieved July 20, 2026.
  49. ↑ "Keystone Fire Map". Watch Duty. Retrieved July 22, 2026.
  50. ↑ Kiser, Andrew (July 21, 2026). "Lightning-caused fire starts in Rio Blanco, Moffat counties". KREX-TV. Retrieved July 22, 2026.
  51. ↑ "Fuhr Gulch Fire Map". Watch Duty. Retrieved July 23, 2026.
  52. ↑ Sinton, Kacie (July 22, 2026). "Lightning sparks new wildfire in Moffat County, two buildings burned". KKCO. Retrieved July 23, 2026.
  53. ↑ "Mt. Carmel Fire Map". Watch Duty. Retrieved July 25, 2026.
  54. ↑ "Rio Blanco Fire Map". Watch Duty. Retrieved August 5, 2026.
  55. ↑ Bowman, Jessie (August 4, 2026). "Rio Blanco Fire south of Pagosa Springs reaches 1,246 acres". The Journal. Retrieved August 5, 2026.
  56. ↑ "Post Fire Map". Watch Duty. Retrieved August 15, 2026.
  57. ↑ "Post Fire (CO)". currentwildfires.com. Retrieved August 15, 2026.
  58. ↑ Sarles, Jesse (August 13, 2026). "All trails closed in Colorado's newest state park due to wildfire". CBS News. Retrieved August 15, 2026.