2021 Colorado Wildfire Claims Exceed $2B

A wildfire that destroyed nearly 1,100 homes and businesses in suburban Denver last winter caused more than $2 billion in losses, making it by far the costliest in Colorado history, the state insurance commissioner said.

Commissioner Michael Conway provided the updated estimate last week during a meeting with residents who lost homes to the so-called Marshall Fire in Boulder County and other Colorado wildfires in recent years, The Denver Post reported Thursday.

The Boulder County fire broke out unusually late in December following months of drought and is blamed for at least one death. Official estimates released days after the fire put the losses at more than $500 million.

Experts say the winter grassland fire that blew up along Colorado’s Front Range was rare but that similar events will be more common in the coming years as climate change warms the planet, sucking the moisture out of plants, and as suburbs grow in fire-prone areas.

Conway said additional insurance claims and assessments of the scope of rebuilding from the wildfire prompted the new estimate. ‘We’re estimating now it will be $2 billion in claims if not more,’ he told residents last Friday.