How many wildfires has Colorado had since 2021? The National Interagency Fire Center has recorded 6,052 wildfires in Colorado from January 1, 2021 through September 30, 2026, burning 768,137 acres.[1] Where a cause was recorded, 37% were started by people and 63% by lightning. Lightning fires burned more land: 396,709 acres from lightning (52% of the total) and 285,309 acres from human-caused fires (37%).[1]
2026 is the largest year in this record at 310,206 acres so far, ahead of 2025 (256,443 acres). The largest single fire is the Lee Fire (2025, Rio Blanco County) at 137,758 acres.[1] These figures were last updated on October 2, 2026.
Colorado Wildfires by the Numbers, 2021–2026
The headline figures from the National Interagency Fire Center record, as of October 2, 2026.[1]
- 6,052 wildfires recorded and 768,137 acres burned in Colorado, January 1, 2021 through September 30, 2026.
- Human-caused: 1,999 fires (33% of all fires) and 285,309 acres.
- Lightning: 3,389 fires (56%) and 396,709 acres.
- Unknown or undetermined cause: 664 fires (11%) and 86,119 acres.
- Among fires with a known cause, 37% were human-caused.
- Largest fire: the Lee Fire (2025, Rio Blanco County) at 137,758 acres.
- 100 fires reached 1,000 acres or more. Together they account for 92% of all acres burned.
- Most acres burned, by county of origin: Rio Blanco (175,794), Custer (102,515), Montezuma (73,823).
- Most fires recorded, by county: Mesa (507), La Plata (468), Montezuma (456).
- Busiest month for new fires: July, with 1,788 fires (30% of the total).
| Year | Fires | Acres burned | Human | Lightning | Unknown |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 1,032 | 53,631 | 259 | 659 | 114 |
| 2022 | 873 | 45,959 | 227 | 415 | 231 |
| 2023 | 831 | 41,895 | 246 | 487 | 98 |
| 2024 | 898 | 60,003 | 308 | 500 | 90 |
| 2025 | 1,147 | 256,443 | 528 | 557 | 62 |
| 2026* | 1,271 | 310,206 | 431 | 771 | 69 |
| Total | 6,052 | 768,137 | 1,999 | 3,389 | 664 |
Human, Lightning and Unknown columns are fire counts. *2026 runs through September 30, 2026.
About the counts: these are wildfires entered into the national interagency record. Many small fires handled only by local departments are not included, so treat fire counts as a minimum. Acres burned is close to complete. To cite this page: Blaze Blocker, “Colorado Wildfire Statistics,” analysis of National Interagency Fire Center WFIGS incident records, updated October 2, 2026, https://blazeblocker.co/colorado-wildfire-statistics.
Colorado Wildfires by County, Year and Cause
Pick a county, a span of years and one or more causes. Every figure, chart and table below updates to match. You can also click a county on the map or a bar on the yearly chart.
Showing All of Colorado, 2021–2026, all causes.
Colorado wildfires by year
Each bar is one year, split by cause. Switch between fires recorded and acres burned above. Click a bar to focus on that year.[1]
Colorado wildfires by month
Number of fires by month of discovery, added up across the years selected above and split by cause. Change the years, or click a bar on the yearly chart, to see a different season.[1]
This chart always counts fires. It does not change with the acres toggle.
Colorado wildfires by county
Each county is shaded by the measure selected above for the years and causes in your filter. Fires are counted in the county where they started. Click a county to focus on it.[1][2]
County ranking
All 64 counties for the selected years and causes.
| # | County | Fires | Acres | Human |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 507 | 40,316 | 35% | |
| 2 | 468 | 1,655 | 26% | |
| 3 | 456 | 73,823 | 16% | |
| 4 | 411 | 22,697 | 20% | |
| 5 | 404 | 175,794 | 11% | |
| 6 | 398 | 15,963 | 5% | |
| 7 | 378 | 6,696 | 21% | |
| 8 | 265 | 10,955 | 70% | |
| 9 | 252 | 10,082 | 26% | |
| 10 | 181 | 9,472 | 50% |
What causes wildfires in Colorado
Share by cause for the selected county and years, measured two ways: by number of fires and by acres burned.[1]
Largest Colorado wildfires since 2021
Every fire of 1,000 acres or more that matches your filters (100 in all), listed under its county of origin with the name, size and cause as recorded.[1]
| Fire | Discovered | County of origin | Cause | Acres |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lee | Aug 2, 2025 | Rio Blanco | Lightning | 137,758 |
| Aspen Acres | Jun 29, 2026 | Custer | Human-caused | 102,004 |
| Ferris | Jun 27, 2026 | Montezuma | Lightning | 64,881 |
| Gold Mountain | Jun 27, 2026 | Ouray | Unknown | 39,747 |
| Turner Gulch | Jul 10, 2025 | Mesa | Lightning | 31,699 |
| Sharpe | May 17, 2026 | Baca | Lightning | 16,240 |
| Elk RBX | Aug 2, 2025 | Rio Blanco | Lightning | 14,518 |
| Oil Springs | Jun 18, 2021 | Rio Blanco | Lightning | 12,613 |
| Stoner Mesa | Jul 28, 2025 | Dolores | Lightning | 10,249 |
| 33 | Dec 17, 2025 | Yuma | Human-caused | 10,102 |
| Alexander Mountain | Jul 29, 2024 | Larimer | Human-caused | 9,668 |
| Sheridan Lake | Apr 22, 2022 | Kiowa | Human-caused | 9,210 |
No fire of 1,000 acres or more matches these filters. Widen the years or add a cause to see more.
Data retrieved .
Where These Numbers Come From
Every fire count and acreage figure on this page comes from one public source, the National Interagency Fire Center. We do not estimate, model or adjust anything. The figures are summaries of the records as the reporting agencies entered them, recalculated from scratch each time the page is updated. This version was built on October 2, 2026 and includes fires discovered through September 30, 2026.
Sources
- National Interagency Fire Center, Wildland Fire Interagency Geospatial Services (WFIGS). Wildland Fire Incident Locations. NIFC Open Data, queried through the WFIGS incident locations feature service. Source of every fire count, acreage, cause, date and fire name on this page.
- U.S. Census Bureau, cartographic boundary files. County boundaries at 1:20,000,000. census.gov. Used only to draw the county map.
- U.S. Forest Service, Fire Program Analysis fire-occurrence database. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992–2020. 6th Edition. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6. Not used for any chart or table on this page. Used only as a yardstick for how complete the NIFC record is, below and in the FAQ.
How to read the numbers
- What is counted. Incidents the record classifies as wildfires, with a point of origin in Colorado and a discovery date on or after January 1, 2021 (Mountain Time). Prescribed burns are not included.
- Fire counts are a minimum. The record holds incidents entered into the national interagency dispatch system. Large fires are captured well, but many small fires put out by local departments never enter it. When we compared it with the Forest Service's more complete database for 2014–2020, the NIFC record held about one-fifth as many Colorado fires but about 95% of the acreage.[3] Acres burned is the more reliable measure. The missing small fires are mostly human-caused, so this record also understates the human-caused share of fire counts: in the Forest Service database for 2000–2020, about 65% of Colorado fires with a known cause were human-caused.[3]
- Cause. The record classifies each fire as human, natural, or undetermined. Natural ignitions are labeled “Lightning” here, because where the record names a specific natural cause it is lightning in nearly every case. Fires marked undetermined or unknown, or with no cause entered, are shown as “Unknown.” A cause can change after an investigation closes.
- County. A fire is counted once, in the county where it started, even when it burned into neighboring counties.
- Acres and names are as recorded. Sizes are the most recent reported fire size, rounded to whole acres, and can differ from figures published elsewhere. A fire with no size entered counts as a fire with zero acres. Fires recorded without a name appear as “Unnamed fire.”
- The current year is partial and recent fires may still have their size or cause revised. That is why the whole record is recalculated at every update rather than added to.
- Earlier years. This page starts in 2021 so that every figure comes from a single, consistently kept record.
You are welcome to quote and cite this page. For research or reporting, please also cite the National Interagency Fire Center, which is where the underlying records live and where corrections are made.