Colorado Fire Information

Fire management in Colorado is an interagency partnership among federal, state and local entities. BLM-managed lands within Colorado are broken into four Interagency Fire Management Units: Northwest Colorado Fire Unit in Craig, Upper Colorado River Interagency Fire Unit in Grand Junction, Southwest District Fire Unit in Montrose and Front Range District Fire Unit in Canon City.

map of colorado with fire unit boundaries

During Colorado's fire season, which is typically May through September, BLM resources such as engines and crews are staffed five to seven days a week.  Crews are staffed in staggered shifts to provide full-time coverage to respond to wildfires.

In addition to the agencies’ regular initial attack forces, BLM Colorado also hosts an interagency hotshot crew, which is available nationally.  Other fire resources include a wildland fire module in Grand Junction and one Type-3 helicopter in Rifle.

BLM Colorado also devotes staff and resources to rehabilitating burned landscapes, reseeding vegetation, protecting watershed quality and preventing the spread of noxious weeds following severe wildfires. On average,  the BLM completes about 9,000 acres of fuels reduction projects in Colorado, including those associated with sage-grouse habitat.

Throughout the year, the BLM also helps Colorado counties complete wildfire protection plans by offering technical expertise and assistance agreements. The BLM and its cooperators have completed several hundred community-based, interagency educational workshops to support community wildfire preparedness, planning, and hazard mitigation.


Infrastructure

On November 15, 2021 the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law was passed into law, which has allowed the BLM to improve public land access in Colorado. This funding also has allowed us to plan prescribed burns in high priority areas and burn more acres than previous years. Prescribed burns are critical for preventing or slowing down large, catastrophic wildfires in the future. Learn some of our successes in the blogs below or view our project tracker to see where these funds are helping your public lands. 

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