Colorado wildfire risk

Colorado's recorded fire history

Federal perimeter records list 1,339 mapped wildfires in Colorado since 2000. The largest on that record is the Hayman Fire of 2002, which burned 137,760 acres.

Recorded history feeds directly into your address score: our model counts mapped burns within 25 miles of a parcel, weighted toward large ones. It is worth knowing the limitation, though — a long record of successful suppression can leave an area reading quiet while fuel accumulates, which is precisely the condition that produces the next large fire.

Where hazard concentrates in Colorado

Wildfire hazard is not spread evenly across a state. These are the 5 counties in Colorado with the highest wildfire risk scores in FEMA's National Risk Index, with the building value each has sitting in exposed areas.

Jefferson County carries the highest score in the state at 99.5. If your address is there, or in any of the counties above, the statewide average understates your situation considerably — which is the reason to check the parcel rather than the state.

How Colorado ranks nationally

FEMA's National Risk Index scores every US county for expected annual wildfire loss. Across Colorado's 64 assessed counties the average wildfire hazard score is 73.5, which places the state 13th of the 50 states. The most exposed county in Colorado scores 99.5.

Against a 50-state average of 52.7, Colorado sits 20.8 points above it. Rank 13 of 50. The National Risk Index blends how often wildfire is expected with how much is standing in the way, so a state can post a moderate score with severe local hazard wherever development has pushed into the wildland-urban interface.

Roughly $183.6B of building value sits inside Colorado's wildfire-exposed areas. That figure is what drives carrier behaviour: insurers manage concentration of exposure, so a state can have modest average hazard and still see availability problems wherever that value clusters in the wildland-urban interface.

Colorado wildfire season

Colorado's fire season typically runs from late spring through to the first autumn precipitation, peaking in July and August. Snowpack and spring moisture set the tone for the year — a dry winter usually means an early and long season.

Insurance in Colorado

Colorado operates a FAIR Plan or equivalent residual market, which matters because average county hazard here is high enough that admitted carriers do decline individual parcels. Residual market policies are typically restricted in what they cover, so check whether you need a separate policy alongside it for liability and theft.

Residual-market availability and the rules governing it change. Confirm the current position with the Colorado Department of Insurance before you rely on it.

Whatever the market looks like in your area, the sequence is the same: document mitigation before your renewal date, work with an independent broker who can access surplus lines, and ask directly whether the carrier credits wildfire mitigation. The full fire insurance guide covers non-renewal, FAIR Plans and difference-in-conditions wraps in detail.

Lowering your risk in Colorado

The two changes with the best return anywhere in the country are clearing the first five feet around the structure to non-combustible material, and screening vents against ember entry. Both are cheap, both address the mechanism that destroys most homes, and both are visible to an underwriter if you photograph and invoice them. What qualifies and how to document it.