The Hi Meadow Fire was an early warning of the wildland-urban interface era in Colorado.
Burning in June 2000 near Bailey at the same time as the Bobcat Gulch Fire, Hi Meadow destroyed 58 structures including 51 homes. Together the two fires marked a turning point in Front Range fire awareness.
Every major Colorado fire reinforces the same lesson: the homes most likely to survive are the ones prepared before a fire starts. It was among the first fires to make foothills homeowners take defensible space seriously. 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 Bailey and South Platte foothills can get a free assessment from our Denver Foothills and Bailey 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.
The Bobcat Gulch Fire (2000) burned ~10,600 acres near Drake in Larimer County, destroying 22 structures. An early Front Range wildland-urban interface fire.
Read the overviewThe 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 complete, searchable record of every major Colorado wildfire in history.
Open the full guideAbout 10,500 acres near Bailey; it destroyed 51 homes.
June 2000, in Park and Jefferson Counties.
