July 23, 2020- The Elephant Butte Fire, located in Jefferson County qualified for State Responsibility and received verbal approval for an Executive Order by means of the Colorado Disaster Emergency Fund (DEF).

The Elephant Butte Fire started July 14 two miles west of Evergreen, Colorado. Evergreen Fire/Rescue firefighters continue to monitor the 52-acre burn, which was declared contained on Sunday July 26. The cause of the fire is currently under investigation.  

 The Colorado Division of Fire Prevention and Control (DFPC) wildland fire mission is to provide support, service, and assistance to local fire agencies and counties, in addition to filling resource and incident management gaps where they occur.  DFPC provides wildland fire support to local agencies in the form of funding, aviation, ground resources, and technical assistance. Funding support and resources have been provided to wildfires across the state this year, successfully keeping many fires small and limiting suppression costs and property damage.

 When a wildfire exceeds local and county capability, additional State assistance can be requested. For wildfires that meet State Responsibility criteria, DFPC assumes management and financial responsibility along with the County.  The Colorado Disaster Emergency Act allows for the extension of available funds and provides additional funds to pay for costs associated with the Elephant Butte Fire.

 So far in 2020, there have been 7 wildfire incidents that have met state responsibility criteria and exceeded the capability of the Counties they occurred in, with the state providing management and financial assistance of over $4,5000,000. In addition to these large fires, DFPC has provided funding assistance and aviation resources for approximately $1,750,000 on another 31 fires, with those initial attack actions limiting fire size, duration, cost, and impacts. In comparison, in 2016 and 2017 there were a combined 16 wildland fires that became state responsibility incidents and of those, 9 received an Executive Order and funding from the DEF.

 For more information on the Elephant Butte Fire, visit the Evergreen Fire Rescue Facebook Page.

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