2021 Colorado wildfires

The 2021 Colorado wildfire season was a series of wildfires that burned throughout the U.S. state of Colorado. According to the National Interagency Fire Center, as of July 1, 2021, at least 32,860 acres (13,300 ha) of land had burned in at least 337 wildland fires across the state.^[3][4] Hundreds of homes were burned, and the cities of Louisville and Superior were evacuated, during the Boulder County fires in late December.^[5]

2021 Colorado wildfires
Statistics
Total fires	337
Total area	42,202 acres (17,079 ha)
Impacts
Deaths	4[1][2]
Non-fatal injuries	6
Structures destroyed	1,102
Damage	>$513 million (2021 USD)[2]
← 2020 2022 →

Background

While "fire season" varies every year based on different weather conditions, most wildfires occur between May and September with a fire risk year-round with an increasing danger during winter. Drought and decreasing snowpack levels and lowering snowmelt and runoff increase fire risk. These conditions, along with increased temperatures and decreased humidity, are becoming more common from climate change. Vegetation growth provides an ample fuel for fires. From 2011 to 2020, Colorado experiences an average of 5,618 wildfires each year that collectively burn about 237,500 acres (96,100 ha).^[6]

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.

Name	County	Acres	Start date	Containment date[a]	Notes	Ref
Fort Lyon	Bent	1,433	January 15	January 16		[8]
Oil Springs	Rio Blanco	12,613	June 18	July 10	Lightning-caused	[9]
West	Moffat, Sweetwater (WY)	3,429	June 20	July 1	Lightning-caused	[10]
Muddy Slide	Routt	4,093	June 20	September 14	Lightning-caused; 18 structures destroyed	[11][12]
Sylvan	Eagle	3,792	June 20	October 14	Lightning-caused	[13][14]
Morgan Creek	Routt	7,586	July 10	October 14	Lightning-caused	[15]
Bijou	Morgan	3,083	August 27	August 28	Lightning-caused	[16]
Kruger Rock	Larimer	147	November 16	November 20	Sparked by winds blowing a tree onto a nearby powerline; 1 firefighter fatality	[17][1]
Marshall Fire	Boulder	6,026	December 30	January 1, 2022	Unknown cause; 1,084 structures destroyed; 149 structures damaged; 1 fatality; 6 injuries	[18][2]

See also

• Colorado State Forest Service
• List of Colorado wildfires

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.^[7]