Colorado warns of high wildfire risk as drought deepens across state
Las Animas County is already under Stage II restrictions as two 2026 fires tested state crews, aircraft and emergency managers near Trinidad.
Colorado entered wildfire season with a blunt warning for Las Animas County: drought is deepening, wind can turn any spark fast, and the county has already seen two major fires force state action near Trinidad. Gov. Jared Polis and fire officials used a May 3 preparedness event to press the point that wildfire response is no longer just a government job. It is a local readiness problem, especially for ranches, remote homes and communities spread far from major response hubs.
The county’s recent fire record makes that message immediate. Polis verbally declared a disaster emergency for the Schwachheim Fire on April 13, when it was estimated at more than 300 acres near Trinidad. By April 14, the state emergency update listed it at 644 acres, with the Colorado Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management and state fire managers tracking resource needs. Less than two weeks later, Polis verbally declared another disaster emergency for the Poitrey Canyon Fire in Las Animas County, which was estimated at more than 2,000 acres. Las Animas County had already posted Stage II fire restrictions on March 31, a sign that local leaders were seeing dangerous conditions well before the statewide push for awareness.
State officials say the new preparedness plan matters because the first hour of a fire is still the most decisive, and Las Animas County’s geography can make that hour unforgiving. The Colorado Division of Fire Prevention and Control says its Multi-Mission Aircraft program now uses two Pilatus PC-12 planes equipped with infrared and color sensors, available year-round and capable of reaching almost anywhere in Colorado within 45 minutes of launch. The division also has two exclusive-use single-engine air tankers that can each carry up to 800 gallons of retardant, suppressant or foam. State wildfire materials say nearly 85% of wildfires are human-caused, a reminder that prevention starts with campers, drivers and landowners before the first smoke column rises.
The broader backdrop is just as stark. Drought.gov said 100% of Las Animas County was affected by drought in early April, and the National Weather Service’s late-April outlook favored below-normal precipitation across the Plains even as parts of Colorado saw some improvement in rain chances. Colorado’s wildfire history page shows the danger is not abstract: 20 of the state’s 20 largest wildfires have occurred since 2002, and 17 of the top 20 since 2012. For Las Animas County, that means treating campfires, fireworks, cigarettes and vehicles parked over dry grass as serious ignition risks. In a summer shaped by drought and wind, the county’s safest assumption is that the next fire could start close to home and spread faster than help can arrive.
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