2026 Colorado wildfires

2026 Colorado wildfires
Season
← 2025

The 2026 Colorado wildfires are a series of active wildfires currently ongoing in 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]

Colorado had one of its lowest snowpacks on record during the 2025-26 North American winter due to warm and dry conditions, particularly in the western part of the state. These conditions left Colorado more vulnerable to wildfires then usual.[2]

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 Notes Ref.
County Road 89 Morgan, Weld 1,089 February 17 February 17 [3]
County Road 169 Highway 24 Elbert, Lincoln 5,599 February 17 February 18 [4]
Dahlberg Douglas 1,081 February 24 February 24 [5]
113 Logan 4,000 February 25 February 25 [6]
Range 121 El Paso 1,100 March 15 March 16 [7]

References

  1. ^ "Colorado Fire Season: In-Depth Guide". wfca.com. Western Fire Chiefs Association. Retrieved May 25, 2025.
  2. ^ Longwell, Ali (February 26, 2026). "Colorado considers earlier than normal activation of Drought Task Force as snowpack continues to lag behind". Aspen Times. Retrieved March 24, 2026.
  3. ^ "County Road 89 Fire Map". Watch Duty. Retrieved February 18, 2026.
  4. ^ "County Rd 169 Hwy 24 Fire Map". Watch Duty. Retrieved February 17, 2026.
  5. ^ "Dahlberg Fire Map". Watch Duty. Retrieved February 24, 2026.
  6. ^ "113 Fire Map". Watch Duty. Retrieved February 25, 2026.
  7. ^ "Range 121 Fire Map". Watch Duty. Retrieved March 17, 2026.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.