The Buffalo Creek Fire is remembered as much for what happened after the flames as for the fire itself.
Burning in May 1996 in the upper South Platte watershed, a critical Denver water supply, the human-caused fire scorched roughly 11,900 acres and destroyed 18 structures. That July, intense rain over the bare burn scar triggered deadly flash floods that killed two people and dumped sediment into Denver’s water system.
Every major Colorado fire reinforces the same lesson: the homes most likely to survive are the ones prepared before a fire starts. It was an early, vivid lesson that a wildfire’s damage, flooding, erosion, water contamination, can continue for years. Creating defensible space, hardening the home against embers, and documenting the work for insurance and grant funding are the highest-leverage steps a homeowner can take.
Homeowners in the Jefferson County and South Platte foothills can get a free assessment from our Denver Foothills team.
Not sure where your property stands? Check your wildfire risk score in under a minute, watch for new starts on the active fires map, and set up emergency fire alerts so you never miss an evacuation order.
The Hayman Fire (2002) burned 138,114 acres SW of Denver, Colorado's largest until 2020. Cause (arson), 600 structures, deaths and aftermath.
Read the overviewThe High Park Fire (2012) burned 87,284 acres west of Fort Collins, destroyed 259 homes and killed one. Cause, timeline and aftermath.
Read the overviewThe Grizzly Creek Fire (2020) burned 32,631 acres in Glenwood Canyon and shut down I-70 for two weeks. Cause, timeline, debris flows and aftermath.
Read the overviewThe complete, searchable record of every major Colorado wildfire in history.
Open the full guideAbout 11,900 acres in the South Platte watershed.
Its burn scar caused deadly post-fire flash floods that killed two people and damaged Denver's water supply.
