Colorado won’t receive funding from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to help with recovery efforts after the fifth largest wildfire in the state’s history burned in Rio Blanco County last summer.

This is the first time in 35 years that the federal government has denied Colorado’s requests for major disaster declarations, which unlock federal funding for recovery efforts, Gov. Jared Polis’ office said in a news release on Tuesday, April 14.

“These disasters caused real damage to homes, infrastructure and local economies, and Coloradans should not be left to shoulder these costs alone,” Polis said in a statement. “We will continue supporting impacted communities and exploring every available path forward, but the federal government must be a reliable partner in disaster recovery.”

Under a federal law known as the Stafford Act, governors of states affected by disasters such as hurricanes, tornadoes, storms, earthquakes, wildfires or droughts can request major disaster declarations when they determine the situation is beyond the state’s capability. The president has the sole discretion on whether to issue a major disaster declaration, according to the FEMA website.

President Donald Trump’s administration first denied Polis’ major disaster declaration request for the Elk and Lee fires, which destroyed at least five homes and caused millions of dollars in infrastructure damage, in December. The Lee Fire burned just shy of 138,000 acres, making it one of the largest in the state’s history.

After Polis appealed in January, the Trump administration issued a determination on April 10, stating that the appeal was denied and that federal assistance “is not warranted.” The administration has also denied the appeal for a major disaster declaration for historic flooding that occurred in southwest Colorado last fall.

In January, an unnamed FEMA spokesperson said that “this decision, just like all disaster requests, was based on policy, not politics.” The spokesperson has not responded to repeated questions, sent by email again this week, about which specific criteria the Colorado disasters failed to meet.

Polis and U.S. Sens. Michael Bennet and John Hickenlooper accused the Trump administration of playing “political games” by denying federal disaster assistance to the state. Other Democratic-leaning states, including Illinois, Maryland and Vermont, have also seen requests for federal disaster funding denied, with lawmakers in those states claiming the Trump administration is politicizing the disaster relief process.

Colorado’s entire congressional delegation, including Republican Reps. Jeff Hurd, Jeff Crank, Gabe Evans and Lauren Boebert have also signed a letter calling on the Trump administration to issue the disaster declarations.

“Disasters are disasters, regardless of state lines or political parties,” Bennet and Hickenlooper said in a joint statement. The two senators wrote that the denial of Colorado’s two major disaster declarations requests “is callous and leaves rural Coloradans, who urgently need support, vulnerable and footing the bill.” The statement noted that under federal law, Trump has the discretion on whether or not to issue a major disaster declaration.

“Critical infrastructure remains unstable, costs continue to rise and communities remain at risk,” the statement said. “The president is solely responsible for this abdication of responsibility; the consequences of which will continue to be severe and long-lasting.”

Polis verbally declared a state-level disaster emergency for the Lee and Elk fires in August, approved the deployment of the Colorado National Guard and dedicated $18.5 million in state funding for suppression, response and recovery efforts. Since July 2024, the state has reportedly invested $57.5 million in this and other wildfires and natural disasters.

The state has demonstrated — and FEMA has verified — $27 million in damages from the northwest Colorado fires and subsequent mudslides, a number that is expected to grow over time. The losses from the wildfires and the flooding in southwest Colorado “exceed FEMA’s threshold to approve a federal disaster declaration,” according to Polis’ office.

About $23 million of the $27 million in damages were attributed to the White River Electric Association’s electrical infrastructure, with the fires destroying nearly 14 miles of transmission lines that provide power to natural gas producers in the Piceance Basin, according to Rio Blanco County. The Piceance Basin produces roughly 2% to 5% of the natural gas consumed daily in the United States, so the impacts from reduced production are expected to extend well beyond the county.

“This is incredibly disappointing for Coloradans,” Polis said. “Colorado communities have done everything right — responding quickly, documenting the damage and working in good faith with federal partners — only for the Trump administration to deny funding to help Colorado communities recover.”