2024 Colorado wildfires

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2024 Colorado wildfires
Roosevelt IHC - Spruce Creek Fire 2024.jpg
The Spruce Creek Fire, which burnt 5,699 acres of land in the San Juan National Forest
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The 2024 Colorado wildfire season was a series of wildfires that burned in the U.S. state of Colorado during 2024.

Contents

Background

While "fire season" varies every year in Colorado, most wildfires occur in between May and September, but there is a fire risk year-round. Large wildfires have become more common mostly because of drought, high winds, and vegetation growth. Climate change has increased temperatures and decreased humidity in Colorado and sometimes reduces spring snowmelt, both of which contribute to fire conditions. [1]

Summary

By early August, Colorado tallied a substantial share of wildfire activity across the western United States, with the Front Range region particularly hard hit. The Bucktail Fire, which began on August 1 in Montrose County, ultimately burned 7,202 acres, making it the second-largest blaze of the season and causing criminal charges when it was found to have been accidentally started during an attempt to cremate a dog. [2] Even earlier, the Spruce Creek Fire, ignited by lightning in mid-May near Dolores, charred 5,699 acres—the season’s first major wildfire—before being fully contained by the end of May. [3]

That spring and summer period was marked by volatile conditions, with rapid fire spread spurred by dry fuels, high winds, and low humidity. The Alexander Mountain Fire, which started near Loveland in late July, burned over 9,000 acres and destroyed dozens of homes, prompting aggressive containment strategies including backburning near Drake. [4] Another grim development occurred along the Front Range, where the Stone Canyon Fire, at roughly 1,500 acres, killed one person and destroyed five structures, leading officials to caution that resources were stretched thin across multiple simultaneous incidents. [5]

Wildfire spending this year exceeded $40 million for suppression alone—an expenditure driven largely by large incidents such as the South Rim and Turner Gulch Fires, which accounted for nearly three-quarters of that total. [6] In the face of sustained drought and staffing challenges at the federal level, Colorado’s governor also allocated $7 million in state wildfire mitigation grants—a targeted response to bolster community resilience amid growing fire risk. [7]

List of wildfires

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

NameCountyAcresStart dateContainment date [a] NotesRef
Range 153 El Paso 1,816February 25March 5Human-caused about 10 miles (16 km) southwest of Fountain. [9] [10]
Range 135 El Paso 7,744February 29March 5 [11]
Boggsville Bent 1,062March 2March 18Burned about 2 miles (3.2 km) south of Las Animas. Closed State Highway 101 and U.S. Route 50 and prompted evacuations for Las Animas. [12] [13] [14]
Range 127 El Paso 1,132April 15May 13Human-caused. Burned near Fort Carson. [15] [16]
Spruce Creek Montezuma 5,699May 14May 31Caused by lightning 11 miles (18 km) northeast of Dolores. [17] [18]
Rabbit Valley Mesa 1,505June 17June 20Burned near Utah border [19] [20]
Oak Ridge Pueblo, Custer 1,310June 22July 24Caused by lightning 3 miles (4.8 km) northeast of Beulah. [21]
104 Weld 1,782July 28July 31 [22]
Alexander Mountain Larimer 9,668July 29August 17 [23] [24] [25]
Stone Canyon Boulder 1,557July 30August 4Burned outside of Lyons. Destroyed six structure and killed one person. Undetermined cause. [26] [27] [28]
Bucktail Montrose 7,078August 1August 21Started by a man attempting to cremate his dog. Damaged one structure. [29] [30]
Big Gulch Moffat 1,164August 7August 9Likely caused by lightning. [31] [32]
Wildhorse 5 Weld 1,200September 29October 1Human-caused. Burned 10 miles (16 km) north of Briggsdale in Pawnee National Grassland. [33] [34]
2024 Colorado wildfires
Perimeters of 2024 Colorado wildfires (map data)

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Containment means that fire crews have established and secured control lines around the fire's perimeter. These lines are artificial barriers, like trenches or cleared vegetation, designed to stop the fire's spread, or natural barriers like rivers. Containment reflects progress in managing the fire but does not necessarily mean the fire is starved of fuel, under control, or put out. [8]

References

  1. ↑ "Colorado Fire Season: In-Depth Guide". wfca.com. Western Fire Chiefs Association. Retrieved May 4, 2025.
  2. ↑ "Affidavit: Attempt to cremate dog sparked West End fire". September 16, 2024.
  3. ↑ "Spruce Creek fire burns nearly 5,000 acres in southwestern Colorado, sparks air quality alert". The Denver Post. May 23, 2024. Retrieved August 3, 2024.
  4. ↑ Wertz, Joe; Zialcita, Paolo; Denburg, Hart Van; Villegas, Andrew (July 29, 2024). "Evacuations remain as wildfire burns near Loveland". Colorado Public Radio. Retrieved July 30, 2024.
  5. ↑ "1 killed, nearly 10 K acres burned in three wildfires along Colorado's Front Range". Colorado Newsline. Retrieved August 14, 2025.
  6. ↑ "It has cost taxpayers more than $40 million to fight Colorado wildfires this year". Denver7. Retrieved August 14, 2025.
  7. ↑ "The US is woefully underprepared for wildfire season, say insiders: 'The stakes are life and death'". The Guardian. Retrieved August 14, 2025.
  8. ↑ "What containment and other wildfire related terms mean". Los Angeles: KCAL-TV. September 12, 2024. Retrieved July 25, 2025.
  9. ↑ "WFIGS 2024 Interagency Fire Perimeters to Date". National Interagency Fire Center. Retrieved September 27, 2024.
  10. ↑ "Range 153 - Wildfire and Smoke Map". data.coloradoan.com. The Coloradoan. Retrieved May 20, 2025.
  11. ↑ "WFIGS 2024 Interagency Fire Perimeters to Date". National Interagency Fire Center. Retrieved September 27, 2024.
  12. ↑ "WFIGS 2024 Interagency Fire Perimeters to Date". National Interagency Fire Center. Retrieved September 27, 2024.
  13. ↑ Whitehead, Darren; Case, Angela (March 3, 2024). "Bent County wildfire 80% contained; pre-evacuations lifted". 9 News. Retrieved May 8, 2025.
  14. ↑ Grewe, Lindsey (March 3, 2024). "Boggsville Fire: Fire in southeast Colorado now fully contained, no structures lost". KKTV 11. Retrieved May 8, 2025.
  15. ↑ "WFIGS 2024 Interagency Fire Perimeters to Date". National Interagency Fire Center. Retrieved September 27, 2024.
  16. ↑ "RANGE 127 - Wildfire and Smoke Map". data.dailyrecord.com. Retrieved May 20, 2025.
  17. ↑ "2024 Spruce Creek CO". InciWeb. Retrieved May 30, 2024.
  18. ↑ "Spruce Creek Fire Update 05-28-2024". InciWeb. Retrieved May 18, 2025.
  19. ↑ "Rabbit Valley - Wildfire and Smoke Map". USA Today. Retrieved May 7, 2025.
  20. ↑ Bigler, Kaigan (June 17, 2024). "Rabbit Valley Fire reaches 1,505 acres on Utah/Colorado border". KUTV. Retrieved May 18, 2025.
  21. ↑ "Copsf Oak Ridge Fire Information". inciweb.wildfire.gov. May 6, 2025. Retrieved May 7, 2025.
  22. ↑ "WFIGS 2024 Interagency Fire Perimeters to Date". National Interagency Fire Center. Retrieved September 27, 2024.
  23. ↑ "Coarf Alexander Mountain Fire Information". Inciweb. Retrieved August 19, 2024.
  24. ↑ "Coarf Alexander Mtn Fire -". Inciweb. Retrieved August 19, 2024.
  25. ↑ Krause, David (August 18, 2024). "Alexander Mountain fire fully contained after burning for nearly 3 weeks west of Loveland". The Colorado Sun. Retrieved August 21, 2024.
  26. ↑ Willard, Heather. "Stone Canyon Fire: 100% contained, evacuations lifted". KDVR. Retrieved August 5, 2024.
  27. ↑ "Update on the Stone Canyon Fire". bouldercounty.gov. Retrieved May 20, 2025.
  28. ↑ "Stone Canyon and Lakeshore Fires". bouldercounty.gov. Retrieved May 20, 2025.
  29. ↑ "Bucktail Fire". InciWeb. Retrieved August 16, 2024.
  30. ↑ Sinton, Kacie; Van de Riet, Emily (September 15, 2024). "Wildfire was caused by man trying to cremate his dog, affidavit says". KBTX. Retrieved May 18, 2025.
  31. ↑ "WFIGS 2024 Interagency Fire Perimeters to Date". National Interagency Fire Center. Retrieved September 27, 2024.
  32. ↑ Anastasio, Jeff (August 8, 2024). "Big Gulch Fire in Moffat County burns over 1,00 acres as of Thursday". KMGH-TV . ABC News. Retrieved May 20, 2025.
  33. ↑ "Wildhorse 5 - Wildfire and Smoke Map". Daily Commercial. Retrieved May 7, 2025.
  34. ↑ "Wildhorse 5 - Wildfire and Smoke Map". data.thegardnernews.com. Retrieved May 20, 2025.
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