2025 Colorado wildfires

2025 Colorado wildfires
The Turner Gulch Fire on July 15, 2025.
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The 2025 Colorado wildfires were a series of wildfires that burned in the U.S. state of Colorado.

Background

Main article: List of Colorado wildfires

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.[1]

Summary

At the start of the 2025 fire season, Colorado officials forecasted a mixed to above-normal fire risk, with expectation of around 6,000 wildfires burning approximately 160,000 acres in an average year.[2]

By mid-summer, extreme drought and heat across western Colorado had fueled rapid fire growth. The Lee Fire, ignited by lightning on August 2 near Meeker, surged to over 100,000 acres within a week, becoming one of the largest in state history.[3] In parallel, the Elk Fire, also in the Meeker area, burned over 14,000 acres before reaching full containment.[4]

Other significant fires included the South Rim Fire in Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Forest, started July 10 by lightning, which burned 4,232 acres and destroyed several visitor structures before reaching full containment on September 18.[5]

Across the Western Slope, multiple lightning-caused blazes consumed tens of thousands of additional acres, straining suppression resources.[6][7]

Smoke from the fires has degraded air quality across much of the state, prompting health advisories and complicating firefighting efforts.[8]

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[a] Notes Ref.
Andrix Baca 1,934 March 10 March 10 Cost $35,000 in suppression efforts. Burned 20 miles (32 km) east of Kim. [10][11]
Meridian El Paso 2,540 March 13 March 16 Destroyed one structure and prompted evacuations east of Colorado Springs. [12][13]
Iron Ladies Weld 1,500 March 17 March 18 6 miles (9.7 km) west of Grover in Pawnee National Grassland. [14][15]
31 North & South Otero 3,400 March 18 March 18 [16]
US 160 Las Animas 2,270 April 7 April 7 [17]
South Rim Montrose 4,232 July 10
September 11
 Lightning-caused. Burning in the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park. [18]
Sowbelly Delta, Mesa, Montrose 2274 July 10 August 1 Lightning-caused. Burned in the Dominguez-Escalante National Conservation Area. [19][20]
Turner Gulch Mesa 31,695 July 10
September 2
 Lightning-caused. Burned near Gateway. [21][22]
Stoner Mesa Montezuma, Dolores 10,249 July 28 December 3 Lightning-caused. [23][24][25]
Lee Rio Blanco 137,758 August 2 September 18 Lightning-caused. Started 18 miles southwest of Meeker. [26][27][28][29][30][31][32]
Elk RBX Rio Blanco 14,518 August 2 August 16 Lightning-caused. Started 10 miles east of Meeker. [26][27][33]
Twelve Moffat 4,287 August 6 August 22 Human-caused. Burned 3 miles (4.8 km) northeast of Elk Springs. [34]
Crosho Rio Blanco, Routt 2,073 August 11
August 25
 Undetermined cause. [35][36]
Derby Eagle 5,453 August 17 December 11 Lightning-caused. Burned 10 miles (16 km) north of Dotsero. Destroyed one structure. [37][38]
Large Impact El Paso 5,500 November 6 Human-caused. Burned near Fort Carson. [39]
County Road L Yuma 2,000 December 17 December 18 Caused power outages along with the County Road 33 Fire. [40]
County Road 33 Yuma 14,050 December 17 December 19 Burned south of Eckley. Caused power outages along with the County Road L Fire. [40][41]

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.[9]

References

  1. ^ "Colorado Fire Season: In-Depth Guide". wfca.com. Western Fire Chiefs Association. Retrieved May 25, 2025.
  2. ^ "Colorado officials provide update on 2025 wildfire forecast". Retrieved October 5, 2025.
  3. ^ "Lee fire tops 106k acres as firefighters in northwestern Colorado". Retrieved October 5, 2025.
  4. ^ "Elk RBX Fire Information - InciWeb the Incident Information System". inciweb.wildfire.gov. August 6, 2025. Retrieved August 6, 2025.
  5. ^ "South Rim - Wildfire and Smoke Map". data.coloradoan.com. Retrieved September 1, 2025.
  6. ^ "Colorado wildfires: Latest updates on the 2025 fire season". Retrieved October 5, 2025.
  7. ^ "How wildfires are impacting Colorado's wildlife". Retrieved October 5, 2025.
  8. ^ "Wildfire smoke, ozone, and heat: the air is extra dangerous in Colorado today". Retrieved October 5, 2025.
  9. ^ "What containment and other wildfire related terms mean". Los Angeles: KCAL-TV. September 12, 2024. Retrieved July 25, 2025.
  10. ^ "Andrix Fire Map". Watch Duty. Retrieved March 11, 2025.
  11. ^ "Andrix - Wildfire and Smoke Map". data.recordonline.com. Retrieved May 19, 2025.
  12. ^ "Meridian Fire Map". Watch Duty. Retrieved March 14, 2025.
  13. ^ Prentzel, Olivia (March 13, 2025). "Quickly growing Meridian fire prompts evacuations in Colorado Springs". The Colorado Sun. Retrieved May 9, 2025.
  14. ^ "Iron Ladies Fire Map". Watch Duty. Retrieved March 18, 2025.
  15. ^ "Iron Ladies - Wildfire and Smoke Map". data.oklahoman.com. The Oklahoman. Retrieved May 19, 2025.
  16. ^ "31 North/South Fire Map". Watch Duty. Retrieved March 18, 2025.
  17. ^ "US 160 Fire Map". Watch Duty. Retrieved April 7, 2025.
  18. ^ "South Rim Fire Map". Watch Duty. Retrieved September 24, 2025.
  19. ^ "Sowbelly Fire Map". Watch Duty. Retrieved July 13, 2025.
  20. ^ "Sowbelly Fire - Inciweb". inciweb.wildfire.gov.
  21. ^ "Turner Gulch Fire Map". Watch Duty. Retrieved July 13, 2025.
  22. ^ "Turner Gulch Fire - Inciweb". inciweb.wildfire.gov. Retrieved September 22, 2025.
  23. ^ "Watch Duty - Wildfire Maps & Alerts". Watch Duty. Retrieved August 14, 2025.
  24. ^ "Stoner Mesa Fire - Inciweb". inciweb.wildfire.gov. Retrieved October 5, 2025.
  25. ^ "Stoner Mesa Fire". fires.cornea.is. Retrieved January 1, 2026.
  26. ^ a b "National Guard called to help firefighters battling "really, really fast" wildfires in northwestern Colorado". Colorado Sun. Retrieved August 7, 2025.
  27. ^ a b "Wildfire burning near Meeker destroys 3 buildings, explodes to 3,000 acres". Colorado Sun. Retrieved August 4, 2025.
  28. ^ "Lee Fire - Inciweb". inciweb.wildfire.gov. Retrieved September 22, 2025.
  29. ^ Krause, David. "Lee fire now 5th-largest in state history, burning more than 113k acres in northwestern Colorado". Colorado Sun. Retrieved August 11, 2025.
  30. ^ Krause, David. "Lee fire tops 106k acres as firefighters in northwestern Colorado start to gain containment". Colorado Sun. Retrieved August 10, 2025.
  31. ^ Krause, David. "Lee fire west of Meeker is so large it is creating its own weather system". Colorado Sun. Retrieved August 9, 2025.
  32. ^ "Lee - Wildfire and Smoke Map". data.bucyrustelegraphforum.com. Retrieved September 24, 2025.
  33. ^ "Elk RBX Fire - Inciweb". inciweb.wildfire.gov. Retrieved September 22, 2025.
  34. ^ "Twelve - Wildfire and Smoke Map". data.elpasotimes.com. Retrieved September 24, 2025.
  35. ^ "Watch Duty - Wildfire Maps & Alerts". Watch Duty. Retrieved August 14, 2025.
  36. ^ "Crosho Fire - Inciweb". inciweb.wildfire.gov. Retrieved September 22, 2025.
  37. ^ "Derby - Wildfire and Smoke Map". data.mpnnow.com. Retrieved September 24, 2025.
  38. ^ Dequine, Kari. "Exceptional drought and a ring of fire for northwest Colorado". aspenjournalims.org. Retrieved September 24, 2025.
  39. ^ "Large Impact - Wildfire and Smoke Map". data.rgj.com. Retrieved November 12, 2025.
  40. ^ a b Butzer, Stephanie (December 18, 2025). "All fires are contained in Yuma after more than 14,000 acres burned, officials say". KMGH-TV. Retrieved January 1, 2026.
  41. ^ "UPDATE: "Fire-33" south of Eckley contained - 14,050 total acres burned". Media Logic Radio. December 19, 2025. Retrieved January 1, 2026.
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