History Colorado

The top 10 largest wildfires in Colorado's history burned in the last 20 years. Explore the hotspot map to find out more about what caused these fires and what needs to change to prevent them. 

The East Troublesome fire began in October and was fully contained in November. It burned 193,812 acres, making it the second largest wildfire in Colorado history. The entire town of Granby had to be evacuated within just a few hours. 


The Pine Gulch fire began in July and was fully contained in September. It burned 139,007 acres, making it the third largest wildfire in Colorado history. Colorado’s average temperature has gone up about 2°F in the past 30 years. That may not seem like a lot, but it makes a difference, especially in the mountains. Scientists say the trend will continue. 

-Hotter, longer summers and warmer, shorter winters.

-Less snow, and more precipitation falling as rain. 

The High Park fire burned 87,284 acres west of Fort Collins and destroyed at least 259 homes. After major fires, cities and counties need to prepare for flooding, because burned ground cannot absorb rainfall. After the High Park fire, Larimer County upgraded culverts to help drain water in preparation for possible floods. Prepared roads suffered relatively little damage during the September 2013 flood on the Front Range, while roads that did not have upgraded culverts were destroyed. 


The West Fork Complex fire burned 109,049 acres northeast of Pagosa Springs. This fire was a combination of three lightning-caused wildfires. 


The 416 fire burned 52,778 acres near Durango, allegedly caused by a spark from a locomotive on the Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad. The fire forced the closure of nearby Purgatory Ski Resort and over 1300 homes and businesses to evacuate. 


The Bridger fire burned 46,612 acres in a US Army training area. Despite its size, the fire did not cause much physical or economic harm. Nevertheless, the Bridger fire is an example of how invasive species can create the potential for more wildfires. Cheatgrass growing tall and quickly after heavy rains can dry out and become easy fuel for prairie wildfires.  


The Missionary Ridge fire burned 71,739 acres near Durango. This fire was extremely unpredictable due to swirling high winds, which also spawned fire tornadoes. Both the Missionary Ridge fire and the Hayman fire occurred during 2002, Colorado’s driest year on record. The extreme conditions of that summer--hot, dry, and windy--are likely to happen again. 


The Spring Creek Fire burned 108,045 acres near Fort Garland and La Veta in southern Colorado. This fire was caused by a person who was camping and was not aware of the restrictions on open fires. Counties and local forest service agencies throughout Colorado will set fire bans during dry and especially windy days to reduce the danger of people accidentally starting fires.   


The biggest fire in Colorado’s history until 2020, the Hayman fire burned 137,760 acres southwest of Colorado Springs. The Hayman Fire caused more than $42 million dollars in losses and damages. 

While the wildfires that burn the most acres were caused by lightning, 97% of fires that threaten homes and buildings in the United States, like the Hayman Fire, were caused by humans. 


The Cameron Peak fire began in August and was fully contained in December. It burned 208,913 acres, making it the largest wildfire in Colorado’s history. A surprise snowstorm in September that dropped more than a foot of snow on the fire was not enough to extinguish it. 

Three of the largest wildfires in Colorado’s long history of fire occurred during 2020. In the last two decades nearly 250,000 people have moved into red zone areas where fires have long been part of the forest ecosystem. Decades of fire suppression left forests full of underbrush and dead trees—kindling for fires. A hotter and drier climate means today’s fires are more destructive and fire seasons are longer.

The Cameron Peak, East Troublesome, and Pine Gulch fires proved to be the largest wildfires in Colorado history, burning a total of 625,356 acres throughout the northwest portion of the state in 2020. The Cameron Peak fire, which raged between August 13 and December 13 in Larimer and Jackson Counties, was the largest of the three. These photographs document the attempts of firefighters to contain the fire early on, an effort that would continue for four more months. Mark T. Spring, the photographer, is a Larimer County firefighter who was one of the first to respond to the fire. Between August 13-17, he and his fellow firefighters utilized several different kinds of equipment and vehicles, including planes and helicopters, to stave off and contain the flames. He and his colleagues traveled to several areas in and around Rustic, Chambers Lake, Masonville, Bellvue, and Redstone Canyon. The photographs depict the various pieces of equipment used, many of the different locations that Mark travelled to, damage from the fire, and the actual fire and smoke.

Photograph, Flames from Cameron Peak Fire

11. Wildfires in Colorado's History

You are a manager of a ski resort in the Rocky Mountains today and you need water to make snow for ski jumps. Add up how much water you need in a day.

7. How Much Water Did You Use In the Rocky Mountains?

You are a homestead farmer in the 1930’s and you need water for your family and cows. Add up how much water you need in a day.

5. How Much Water Did You Use During the Dust Bowl?

Homestead farmers needed water for their families and cows. In Baca County, farmers got water from wells and from irrigation projects that used small canals and ditches to move water to fields from reservoirs. 

4. The Dust Bowl in the 1930s

This timeline explores major droughts throughout Colorado's past. 

10. Droughts in Colorado's History

Which place and time used the most water?

8. Who Used The Most Water?

How much water do you think you’ve used today? Add up all the things you did this morning that need water!


9. Your Water Footprint Today

In this resource kit, we’ll explore water in Colorado history, and how important water has been to people in the past and today. People need water for all kinds of purposes including drinking, cleaning, growing food, energy, recreation, and making things. Think about all of the ways that you used water today. Where does water in Colorado come from? Explore this map to discover common water sources in our state like snow, rain, and major rivers.

1. Where’s the Water? 

This is a live test page for the Apples to Oranges game for the Water Quest resource kit. 

12. Water Quest - Apples to Oranges

Ancestral Pueblo people thrived for thousands of years in a dry environment by respecting water. In the Mesa Verde region, water filters through the sandstone and emerges from seep springs. Ancestral Pueblo people often settled near these natural seep springs across the plateau and in canyon alcoves. They farmed in places that got the most rain and built check dams and terraces to keep water from running off. As the population grew, they built reservoirs to collect spring snowmelt and summer rain. At the end of the 1200s, a twenty-four year-long drought is one factor that may have led the ancestral Pueblo people to migrate out of the Mesa Verde region. 


2. The Mesa Verde Region in the 1200s

Imagine that you are an Ancestral Pueblo person living over 800 years ago and you need water for your village. Add up how much water you need in a day for yourself, the people, and turkeys that live in your village. 

3. How Much Water Did You Use in Mesa Verde?

Mountain towns like Breckenridge were once camps for Ute people who hunted here. Then miners and ranchers settled in and changed the landscape. Now, a growing ski industry and the flood of people visiting and living in our high country have transformed the mountains again. More people and a changing climate have led to a crucial moment in Colorado history: it’s up to us to determine our future.

6. The Rocky Mountains Today

From Mesa Verde to the Dust Bowl, and to the changing contemporary landscape of the Rocky Mountains, discover the important role water has played in Colorado history — and the environmental challenges people faced in the past and present.

Students explore the relationships three different communities had with this precious resource through STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) and geography activities, and consider implications for water usage in times of drought today. This resource kit is designed for upper elementary and middle school earth science and geography classes and can be adapted for lower elementary and high school students.

Guiding Questions for the Water Quest resource kit:

Where does water in Colorado come from? 

How have people in Colorado used water in the past and today? 

How much water have people used for themselves and different activities over time? 

Visit the Living West Exhibit at History Colorado Center in Denver

https://www.historycolorado.org/exhibit/living-west 

Drought and newcomers threaten Southern Colorado's traditional water systems

Ancestral Pueblo Indians of Southwestern Colorado

New Deal Resources on Colorado’s Eastern Plains

Burning Truth: The Beginning of the End for Colorado’s Forests

Colorado River Water Conservation District