Colorado leaders are renewing their push for federal disaster assistance after the Aspen Acres and Gold Mountain fires burned more than 140,000 acres across three counties in June and July.

The state has submitted 173 letters from elected officials and community leaders in support of its request for a Major Disaster Declaration.

The letters detail personal accounts from homeowners and residents who lost property, along with appeals from bipartisan elected officials, nonprofit groups, community organizations and local business owners who say recovery will require federal help.

Gov. Jared Polis said the letters lay out the human reality behind the damage reports — families who have lost everything, first responders and local governments stretched past their limits, water providers struggling to keep essential services running, and small businesses fighting to stay open. He added that the bipartisan nature of the appeals underscores that natural disasters don’t recognize political lines, and that every Coloradan, rural or urban, deserves support to recover and rebuild. Polis said the state has already committed significant resources, but communities cannot recover from a disaster of this scale on their own, and he hopes President Trump will approve the request.

In late August, Polis submitted a letter to President Donald Trump and the Federal Emergency Management Agency requesting a major disaster declaration for the fires, which have burned over 140,000 acres across three counties.

“This has been an awful year for Colorado. After a winter with record low snowpack, our summer was terribly hot and dry,” the letter states. “These conditions led to serious statewide wildland fires, followed by floods. Two fire events are so big that we need federal help to manage. For weeks in June and
July, Colorado had multiple fires that placed us at the top of the national list of serious fires. Two of them are well above the requirements for a Presidential Major Disaster Declaration, and I am writing to request your assistance in our recovery.”

If Trump grants the request, Colorado will be eligible for federal financial assistance and direct support from FEMA.

“The message from Colorado is clear: these communities need help,” said U.S. Rep. Jeff Hurd, in Republican On Colorado’s 3rd Congressional District. “Families have lost homes, businesses and ranchers are facing enormous losses, and local governments and first responders have stretched their resources to the limit.”

Hurd said the 173 letters make clear how broad the support is for getting these communities the resources they need to recover and rebuild. He said he’s grateful to Coloradans across the state for standing with rural communities and urged President Trump to approve the disaster declaration as quickly as possible.

Sen. Michael Bennet said the strong response to Gov. Polis’s request underscores the extraordinary needs facing communities hit by the Aspen Acres and Gold Mountain fires. With more than 140,000 acres burned across three counties and widespread damage to infrastructure, water systems, and hundreds of homes and other structures, he said federal disaster funding is critical for recovery.

Bennet noted that the entire Colorado congressional delegation is united behind the request.