President Donald Trump has approved public assistance for Colorado counties affected by the Aspen Acres and Gold Mountain wildfires, which burned more than 140,000 acres and destroyed hundreds of homes in southern and western Colorado.
Read more Nearly 300 bears euthanized across Colorado as sightings spike statewide
The federal aid will help Custer, Ouray and Pueblo counties cover the costs of debris removal and repairs to public infrastructure, including roads, water systems and electric grids, Gov. Jared Polis announced Friday.
“Coloradans hit by the Aspen Acres and Gold Mountain fires have shown incredible strength, but recovering from big disasters requires federal help,” Polis said in a statement. “Removing debris from homes and buildings destroyed is the most important step to begin rebuilding, and now that work can occur promptly and at no cost to homeowners, just as it did after the Marshall Fire.”
Polis made the formal request for federal aid to the White House on Aug. 23, after state and local officials worked with the Federal Emergency Management Agency to document and validate eligible damage. The state’s requests for two other types of disaster assistance are still under review.
“Our work is not finished. Families lost homes and livelihoods in these fires, and individual assistance and hazard mitigation funding remain under review,” U.S. Rep. Jeff Hurd said in a statement. “I will continue working with the administration and our state and local partners to get those requests across the finish line and make sure western and southern Colorado have the resources they need to recover.”
In a break from previous disasters, the approved support wasn’t certain. Trump had previously denied disaster aid for 2025’s Elk and Lee fires and flooding in western Colorado later that year. The administration has come under repeated criticism for appearing to play politics with disaster relief money, with Trump often tying announcements of federal aid to endorsements of candidates and denying claims to Democratic-led states much more often than Republican ones.
Read more Women gathered in a small Iranian town for a wedding. Then a deadly US strike hit
In a statement, Sen. Michael Bennet welcomed the relief — but noted that more can be done for Coloradans recovering from the disasters.
“Following an outpouring of local support for disaster relief, I am glad to see the approval of the State’s request for a major disaster declaration and public assistance,” Bennet said in the statement.
He added: “The President must now approve the Governor’s request for individual assistance and hazard mitigation funding as well as the overdue federal assistance for the Lee and Elk Fires and extreme flooding in Southwest Colorado that occurred last year.”
Dolores County in western Colorado is also listed in the disaster declaration as being affected by the Aspen Acres fire. It was affected by the Ferris fire, which burned nearly 65,000 acres there.
The Aspen Acres fire has burned more than 100,000 acres, or roughly 159 square miles, mostly in southwest Pueblo County. It is the seventh-largest wildfire in Colorado history. The Gold Mountain fire has burned nearly 40,000 acres, or 62 square miles, mostly in Ouray County.
Get more Colorado news by signing up for our Mile High Roundup email newsletter.
Read more Romanian prosecutors indict Andrew Tate on trafficking minors and money laundering
