Governor Polis Verbally Declares Disaster Emergency In Response to Green Ridge Fire in Routt County

DENVER - Today, Governor Polis verbally declared a disaster emergency in response to the Green Ridge Fire, which is burning in Routt County and is currently estimated to be 25 acres total and is 0% contained. This fire threatens nearly 480 structures within three miles and has 20 homes under mandatory evacuation.

The Governor's verbal declaration activates the State Emergency Operations Plan and directs the Department of Public Safety and its Divisions of Homeland Security and Emergency Management (DHSEM) and Fire Prevention and Control (DFPC) to take responsibility for all response, recovery, and mitigation efforts on the Green Ridge Fire. This support includes State and interagency engines and handcrews, DFPC and interagency aviation resources, and incident management personnel and overhead to assist in management of the fire and containment efforts. In addition, DFPC is supporting Routt County and the incident with administrative and financial oversight and intelligence products that include imaging, mapping, and fire behavior modeling and projects. DHSEM is directly supporting the Routt County Emergency Manager and the emergency operations center with on-site area field managers. This declaration also authorizes the National Guard to assist in response efforts and makes it easier for out-of-state licensed emergency medical providers to assist in fire response efforts.

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