Governor Polis Takes Action in Response to Wildfires 

DENVER - Today, Governor Polis took action in response to wildfires across the state, including the Bent's Fort and Fort Lyons fires. 

Governor Polis amended Executive Order D 2022 018 to provide $19 million from the Disaster Emergency Fund (DEF) that was originally allocated to the Marshall Fire suppression, response, consequence management, and recovery efforts. This action can be taken due to the increased federal government share of funds to manage and respond to the Marshall Fire. These funds will be available in the DEF for future emergencies, and a portion of these funds will be used to secure critical wildfire resources and improve the State’s dispatch system to respond to and reduce the scale of future emergencies. 

Governor Polis also signed Executive Order D 2022 019 to memorialize his verbal disaster declaration for the Bent’s Fort and Fort Lyons Fires on April 12, 2022. Both fires are now 100% contained. The Executive Order allocates $611,000 from the DEF for costs associated with the State’s fire suppression, response, consequence management, and recovery efforts related to the fires since April 12. These funds are available following the Governor’s amendment, above.