Wildfires are top of mind for residents living in the mountains.
Many remember wildfires that have caused evacuations, and worse, loss of life and property. We thank our cooperative fire districts!
Fires in the Conifer/Bailey Area
Size: 579 acres
Name: Quarry Fire
Area: Deer Creek Canyon
Size: 13,023 acres
Name: Weston Pass Fire
Area: Fairplay
Size: 3217 acres
Name: Lower North Fork Fire
Area: Foxton
Notes: Caused by an escaped prescribed fire. Burned 23 homes and killed 3 people. Deadliest wildfire in terms of civilian lives lost.
Size: 137,760 acres
Name: Hayman Fire
Area: Pike National Forest
Notes: Fifth largest fire in history by area. 5 firefighter deaths, 133 homes lost, 600 structures destroyed. Caused by arson.
Size: 11,021 acres
Name: Hi Meadow Fire
Area: Pine
Notes: Burned 58 structures. Ignited by a cigarette.
Size: 11,875 acres
Name: Buffalo Creek Fire
Area: Pike National Forest
Notes: Destroyed 12 homes.
Size: 500 acres
Name: Ox Yoke Fire
Area: Deckers
Size: 375 acres
Name: Jefferson Lake Fire
Area: West of Kenosha Pass
Size: 2100 acres
Name: Wildcat Canyon Fire
Area: Pike National Forest
Notes: Escaped prescribed fire that jumped the South Platte River.
Other Notable Fires on the Front Range
Size: 1600 acres
Name: Marshall Fire
Area: Boulder
Notes: Caused 2 deaths. Most destructive fire in CO history. 1084 homes destroyed. 30,000 people evacuated.
Size: 192,560 acres
Name: East Troublesome Fire
Area: Arapahoe National Forest
Notes: Caused 2 deaths. Second largest wildfire and second most destructive wildfire. Over 500 structures lost. Believed to be human caused.
Size: 208,663 acres
Name: Cameron Peak Fire
Area: Cameron Pass, Roosevelt National Forest
Notes: Caused 2 deaths. Largest wildfire in history. Burned 461 structures. Believed to be human caused.
Size: 14,280 acres
Name: Black Forest Fire
Area: Black Forest, near Air Force Academy
Notes: The most destructive fire in history until 2020. Destroyed 511 homes. Claimed the lives of two people. Cause: natural causes eliminated.
Size: 18,247 acres
Name: Waldo Canyon Fire
Area: Colorado Springs
Notes: Destroyed 346 homes; the most destructive fire until the Black Forest Fire of 2013. Two fatalities.
Above data and image courtesy of Wikipedia, Colorado State University and multiple sources.
Wildfire Resources
Below you will find links that address these concerns:
Where to go for current information on fires and fire alerts
Who you can talk to – in your community – for wildfire information
What you can do to mitigate risks of fire to your home and land
What to know if you need to evacuate
STATUS OF CURRENT FIRES / FIRE ALERTS
- Watch Duty app – Real-time wildfire mapping and alerts. https://www.watchduty.org
- X social media app. Real-time live updates during a fire. https://twitter.com
- My Mountain Town. Local community website. Emergency Page provides status of current fires. https://mymountaintown.com
- Pinecam. Local community website. https://www.pinecam.com
- Jefferson County. https://www.jeffco.us/508/Wildfire
- Fox 31 News. Local. https://kdvr.com
- 9 News. Local. https://www.9news.com
- Denver 7 News. Local. https://www.denver7.com
TOWN HALL MEETINGS
Elk Creek, Inter-Canyon and North Fork Fire Protection District Chiefs – and their Community Ambassadors – are featured regularly.
>> Visit our THM Page
JEFFERSON COUNTY LOOKOUT ALERT SIGNUP
LookoutAlert Regional Emergency Notification System is the official emergency notification system of Jefferson County.
>> Visit External Website
FIREWISE
Firewise USA® is a national program that provides instructional resources to inform landowners, homeowners, and communities how to adapt to living with wildfire and encourages neighbors to work together and take action to reduce their wildfire risk.
>> Visit External Website
SLASH PROGRAM
Sustainable Lands And Safer Homes is a Jeffco initiative which provides sites, located throughout mountainous Jefferson County, where homeowners can bring limbs, branches, woody debris, bark, pine cones, logs. Contractors mulch and remove piles. Small fee. Runs from June through October.
>> Visit External Website
CONIFER WILDLAND DIVISION
Established by Elk Creek, Inter-Canyon, and North Fork Fire Protection Districts to address the high wildfire risk in southern Jefferson County.
They provide specialized fire suppression resources, mobilize the public in fire prevention efforts, provide public education, conduct on site wildfire risk assessments, and design landscape scale and targeted fuels reduction projects.
The following Community Ambassador Program, Home Assessment and Chipping programs are Conifer Wildland Division initiatives:
COMMUNITY AMBASSADOR PROGRAM
This program connects volunteer liaisons with members in their own communities to help them learn about programs available to them. Ambassadors provide information, community resources and help organize community mitigation projects to reduce wildfire risk around homes and in neighborhoods.
>> Visit External Website
WILDFIRE PREPARED HOME ASSESSMENT
Residents can request a professional evaluation of the exterior of their home and surrounding property to determine their susceptibility to wildfire and actions that can make their home more defensible.
>> Visit External Website
CHIPPING PROGRAM
This program is free of charge. Residents can sign up for limited slots to have a contractor chip piles of limbs, branches, small logs and other debris.
>> Visit External Website
ROTARY WILDFIRE READY
Developed specifically for the mountain community of South Jeffco, Rotary helps you Get Notified! Get Ready! Get Set! Go!
>> Visit External Website
