Colorado authorizes $1.881 million for Green Ridge Fire response

Colorado has authorized $1.881 million for response, mitigation and recovery work related to the Green Ridge Fire in Routt County, according to an Aug. 6 executive order from Gov. Jared Polis.

The order memorializes Polis’ July 12 verbal disaster declaration and authorizes unarmed Colorado National Guard members if the Colorado Department of Public Safety determines support is needed. It transfers and encumbers the money from the State Emergency Reserve Cash Fund to the Disaster Emergency Fund, which the order says lacked enough money for fire-related work.

The funding may cover fire suppression, response, consequence management, mitigation and recovery. The order identifies no specific projects, line-item expenses, recipients or awards, and does not show that any money has been spent. The Office of Emergency Management may distribute the funds to government agencies and nonprofits, while state agencies are directed to seek available federal funding.

The order does not establish that National Guard members were deployed or that federal financial assistance was received. A Routt County incident update said about 100 local, state, federal and contracted firefighting personnel were assigned to the fire July 13, including a Type 1 helicopter. That documents federal firefighting resources at the incident, not federal grants or reimbursements.

The emergency declaration is scheduled to expire Aug. 11, 2026 — 30 days after the July 12 declaration — unless Polis extends it in another executive order. No extension was identified in the public records reviewed as of Aug. 8. The funding authority lasts 72 months from Aug. 6, 2026, and unexpended money will remain in the Disaster Emergency Fund.

The fire began July 12 east of Oak Creek and burned through dry grass, brush and timber above the Stagecoach neighborhood near Stagecoach Reservoir, the executive order says. It threatened 480 structures within three miles of the fire, and 20 homes were placed under mandatory evacuation. By July 17, it had burned 41 acres and was 100% contained.

A Routt County road-closure notice issued July 13 restricted travel on roads near Stagecoach Reservoir and the Green Ridge area to emergency vehicles and resident property owners during firefighting operations. A Denver7 report said the roads had reopened and pre-evacuation notices had been lifted by July 17. As of Aug. 7, Routt County’s Active Emergencies page listed a forest-area closure for the separate Fishhook Fire but no Green Ridge evacuation, road-closure or area-closure notice. Available county records do not identify a separate formal rescission date for the earlier Green Ridge road restrictions.