Governor Polis Takes Action in Response to Gageby Creek Fire in Bent County

Photo by John Robinson

DENVER –  Governor Polis issued an Executive Order in response to the Gageby Creek Fire in Bent County. The Executive Order memorializes his verbal disaster declaration and the activation of the State Emergency Operations Plan on April 20. The Executive Order allocates $340,000 from the Disaster Emergency Fund for costs associated with the State’s fire suppression, response, consequence management, mitigation, and recovery efforts. The fire was 100% contained on April 28.

The order explains, “The Gageby fire began on April 18^th in Bent County.  Strong and shifting erratic winds spread the fire in multiple directions, covering 3,040 acres.  Due to drought conditions and high winds, numerous other smaller fires started in multiple fire districts and combined with the Gageby Creek fire to exceed the capacity of local agencies.  Within one day, the fire grew an additional 1,667 acres.

As of April 22, the fire spread to 4,618 acres on state and private lands and was 60% contained.  By April 23, 2023, the fire was 90% contained.  The Gageby Creek fire was completed contained on April 28, 2023, at approximately 11am.”