The West Fork Complex was a massive high-elevation event fueled by Colorado’s vast stands of beetle-killed spruce.
Sparked by lightning in June 2013, the complex, made up of the West Fork, Windy Pass and Papoose fires, burned roughly 109,000 acres in the rugged San Juan Mountains. Its remoteness meant minimal structure loss despite its enormous size. (The Colorado DFPC lists its component fires separately.)
Every major Colorado fire reinforces the same lesson: the homes most likely to survive are the ones prepared before a fire starts. It highlighted how beetle-kill has turned millions of acres of Colorado forest into ready fuel. 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.
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 Pine Gulch Fire (2020) burned 139,007 acres north of Grand Junction. Briefly Colorado's largest wildfire ever, cause, size, timeline and why it caused so little damage.
Read the overviewThe Missionary Ridge Fire (2002) burned 73,145 acres near Durango, destroyed 46 homes and killed a firefighter. Facts from Colorado's 2002 drought season.
Read the overviewThe 416 Fire (2018) burned 54,129 acres north of Durango, sparked by a coal-fired tourist train. Cause, size, the $20M settlement and aftermath.
Read the overviewThe complete, searchable record of every major Colorado wildfire in history.
Open the full guideAbout 109,000 acres combined, among the largest fire events in Colorado history.
It burned in the remote, high-elevation San Juan Mountains far from communities.
