The Cameron Peak Fire: Colorado's largest wildfire

The Cameron Peak Fire holds the record as the largest wildfire in Colorado history, scorching 208,913 acres across the Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forests and into Rocky Mountain National Park.

Overview

The fire ignited on August 13, 2020 near Cameron Pass, high in the mountains west of Fort Collins. Fueled by drought-stressed, beetle-killed timber and repeated high-wind events, it burned for nearly four months before being declared contained on December 2 and fully controlled the following January, an extraordinary span that carried the fire from late summer into winter snow.

How it unfolded

Cameron Peak made several dramatic runs. Wind-driven growth in early and mid-October pushed the fire tens of thousands of acres in single days, threatening communities along the Cache la Poudre and forcing widespread evacuations. It became the first Colorado fire ever to surpass 200,000 acres.

Impact and aftermath

The fire destroyed 469 structures, including 224 homes, but caused no direct deaths. Its enormous burn scar set the stage for dangerous post-fire flooding and debris flows in the years that followed, a reminder that a wildfire's damage often outlives the flames.

The cause

The official cause remains undetermined and under investigation. Like many large Western fires, its scale owed as much to climate and fuel conditions, deep drought and millions of acres of dead lodgepole pine, as to its ignition.

Lessons

What the Cameron Peak Fire teaches Colorado homeowners

Every major Colorado fire reinforces the same lesson: the homes most likely to survive are the ones prepared before a fire starts. With 224 homes lost across a vast forested interface, it showed how far ember-driven risk extends into the wildland-urban interface. 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 Cameron Peak footprint can get a free assessment from our Northern Colorado and Fort Collins teams.

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.