List of Colorado wildfires

This is a list of the largest, most destructive, and deadliest Colorado wildfires that have occurred in modern history.

During the severe 2002 Colorado wildfire season that burned nearly 360,000 acres, the Hayman Fire became the largest wildfire in Colorado state history. It held that title for nearly 20 years, until the Pine Gulch Fire surpassed it in August 2020. The Cameron Peak Fire became the largest wildfire in Colorado history seven weeks later, and ended up burning a total of 208,913 acres.

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. The 2013 Colorado forest fires, fueled by high heat and winds, 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).

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).

Historically, FEMA has helped with recovery efforts. However, in April of 2026, for the first time in 35 years, FEMA has denied federal assistance as part of a major disaster. In August of 2025 the Lee and Elk fires, along with mudslides in Rio Blanco County, caused approximately $27 million in initial damage, and the flooding caused over $13 million.

Background

While "fire season" varies every year based on different weather conditions, most wildfires occur between May and September with a fire risk year-round with an increasing danger during winter. Drought and decreasing snowpack levels and lowering snowmelt and runoff increase fire risk. These conditions, along with increased temperatures and decreased humidity, are becoming more common from climate change. Vegetation growth provides an ample fuel for fires. From 2011 to 2020, Colorado experiences an average of 5,618 wildfires each year that collectively burn about 237,500 acres (96,100 ha).

Area burned per year

Starting in 2000, the National Interagency Fire Center began keeping more accurate records on the total fire acreage burned in each state, and has statistics going back to 1995.

Year	Fires	Acres
1995	2,224	32,011
1996	1,800	46,600
1997	1,605	16,703
1998	1,428	8,826
1999	1,978	33,255
2000	2,043	76,288
2001	2,966	45,816
2002	4,600	619,029
2003	3,957	43,858
2004	2,814	35,303
2005	2,969	41,048
2006	4,515	214,979
2007	3,914	26,515
2008	2,883	149,891
2009	3,991	74,549
2010	4,289	80,708
2011	5,203	176,720
2012	6,114	426,403
2013	4,906	222,916
2014	3,733	23,357
2015	3,442	26,318
2016	5,572	122,517
2017	6,036	111,284
2018	7,092	467,424
2019	7,318	53,744
2020	6,716	744,120
2021	6,679	56,056
2022	8,370	56,403
2023	7,175	40,996
2024	8,541	36,207
5-year average	6,273	95,342

Ten largest Colorado wildfires

As of August 2025, the 10 largest wildfires in Colorado have been:

	Name	County	Acres	Start date	Structures	Deaths	Notes
1.	Cameron Peak	Larimer	208,913	August 2020	469	6	Burned over a span of 112 days. All deaths occurred in post-fire flood events related to the fire. Four people died in 2021, and two people died in 2022 from post-fire flash flood and debris flow events.
2.	East Troublesome	Grand, Larimer	193,812	October 2020	555	2	The wildfire ran more than 100,000 acres in one day and jumped over the Continental Divide, prompting an evacuation of the entire town of Estes Park.
3.	Pine Gulch	Mesa, Garfield	139,007	July 2020	1	0	Briefly became the largest wildfire in Colorado history.
4.	Hayman	Douglas, Jefferson, Park, Teller	138,114	June 2002	600	6	Held the title of the largest wildfire in Colorado for 18 years. Five deaths were firefighters who died in an accident en route to the fire.
5.	Lee Fire	Rio Blanco	137,758	August 2025	7 as of 11 August	0
6.	West Fork Complex	Hinsdale, Mineral	109,615	June 2013	0	0	Consists of multiple wildfires that burned in close proximity. Two of the wildfires, the West Fork Fire (58,570 acres) and the Papoose Fire (49,628 acres), would be the 8th and 10th largest fires in Colorado if treated separately.
7.	Spring Creek	Costilla, Huerfano	108,045	June 2018	140	0
8.	High Park	Larimer	87,415	June 2012	259	1
9.	Missionary Ridge	La Plata	73,000	June 2002	47	1
10.	416	La Plata	54,130	June 2018	0	0

Ten most destructive Colorado wildfires

As of August 2025, the 10 most destructive wildfires in Colorado have been:

	Name	County	Acres	Start date	Total structures	Deaths	Notes
1.	Marshall	Boulder	6,026	December 2021	1,091	2	1,084 homes and 7 commercial buildings were destroyed, all within a 24-hour period beginning early on December 30.
2.	Hayman	Douglas, Jefferson, Park, Teller	138,114	June 2002	600	6	Held the title of the largest wildfire in Colorado for 18 years. Five deaths were firefighters who died in an accident en route to the fire.
3.	East Troublesome	Grand, Larimer	193,812	October 2020	555	2	The wildfire ran more than 100,000 acres in one day and jumped over the Continental Divide, prompting an evacuation of the entire town of Estes Park.
4.	Black Forest	El Paso	14,280	June 2013	489	2	Was the most destructive fire in terms of number of homes lost until the Marshall Fire.
5.	Cameron Peak	Larimer	208,913	August 2020	469	6	Burned over a span of 112 days. All deaths occurred in post-fire flood events related to the fire. Four people died in 2021, and two people died in 2022 from post-fire flash flood and debris flow events.
6.	Waldo Canyon	El Paso	18,247	June 2012	346	2
7.	High Park	Larimer	87,415	June 2012	259	1
8.	Four Mile Canyon	Boulder	5,700	September 2010	162	0
9.	Spring Creek	Costilla, Huerfano	108,045	June 2018	140	0
10.	Iron Mountain	Fremont	4,439	June 2002	106	1

Colorado's deadliest wildfires (5+ deaths)

As of January 2025, these are all the wildfires that have resulted in five or more deaths in Colorado:

	Name	County	Acres	Start date	Total structures	Deaths	Notes
1.	South Canyon	Garfield	2,115	July 1994	0	14	All deaths were firefighters.
2.	Stable/Cheyenne Mountain	El Paso	Unknown*	January 1950	89	9	*News articles state the fire grew to over 50 square miles in size, but this is very likely an exaggeration. No reliable records or sources exist. The wildfire spread rapidly with 70mph gusts and threatened the Broadmoor Hotel.
3.	Cameron Peak	Larimer	208,913	August 2020	469	6	Burned over a span of 112 days. All deaths occurred in post-fire flood events related to the fire. Four people died in 2021, and two people died in 2022 from post-fire flash flood and debris flow events.
3.	Hayman	Douglas, Jefferson, Park, Teller	138,114	June 2002	600	6	Held the title of the largest wildfire in Colorado for 18 years. Five deaths were firefighters who died in an accident en route to the fire.

External links

via Colorado State University

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