Across Southern and Western Colorado, our rural communities are facing one of the most difficult periods in recent memory. The Aspen Acres Fire outside Pueblo has grown to more than 91,000 acres and is now the seventh largest wildfire in state history. The Gold Mountain Fire near Ouray, the Ferris Fire near Dolores, the Willow Fire west of Leadville, and the Snyder Fire on the Colorado-Utah border have also forced thousands of evacuations, destroyed hundreds of homes and businesses, and pushed firefighters, first responders, and volunteers to their limits.
These fires are impacting people we know. Founders. Employees. Neighbors. These are the folks who run coffee shops on Main Street, ranch supply stores, childcare centers, and small manufacturers that keep a town’s economy moving. Rural entrepreneurs are often the first to show up when their community needs something built. Right now, their communities need to show up for them.
This is our attempt to do two things at once: give our rural founders practical guidance for protecting their business, and provide the rest of our community clear ways to help.
To Our Rural Founders and Business Owners:
Whether your business has been directly damaged, you’re operating under evacuation orders, or you’re simply trying to keep things running, there’s no roadmap that makes navigating this situation simple. But there are steps that can make a difference in how you recover.
Audrey Snyder Welsh at Central Mountain SBDC put together an excellent Disaster Readiness and Recovery Guide for businesses in Lake County, and it’s worth reading in full no matter where you’re located: Lake County Small Business Disaster Resource Guide. A few of the most important things it points to:
- Document everything now. Photos and video of your inventory, equipment, and any damage. A daily log of how the disaster is affecting your revenue and expenses. This becomes essential later for insurance claims, loan applications, and tax filings.
- Talk to your insurance agent as soon as you reasonably can, so you understand what your policy actually covers.
- Know your runway. Figure out what revenue you need to cover the next three months of vital expenses, and what you can defer or cut in the short term.
- Talk to your banker about relief options like payment deferment, and look into SBA Economic Injury Disaster Loans if you need financial support.
- Lean on your community of businesses. Chambers, industry associations, and even your competitors can be allies right now; whether that’s sharing supply chains, temporary workspace, or just information.
- Communicate with your customers. Let people know your hours, your status, and how they can still support you.
Every regional SBDC office offers free, confidential advising before, during, and after a disaster like this one. If you’re not sure who your local SBDC is, Colorado SBDC can point you to your region’s office.
A few more resources that can help right now:
- Colorado’s Disaster Recovery Tool walks through the steps affected residents and business owners should take during recovery.
- Crisis Communications and Recovery Toolkit from the Colorado Tourism Office. It’s built for messaging around tourism, but it’s genuinely useful for any local business or community trying to communicate clearly during a crisis.
- SBDC Disaster Response and Preparedness Toolkit
- SBDC Business Recovery and Resiliency Guide
- Rural Opportunity Office Disaster Resource Guide, a curated, continually updated list built specifically to avoid overwhelming you with too many resources at once.
- If you were impacted by the Aspen Acres Fire, report it. DHSEM’s Disaster Survivor Portal helps the state build an accurate picture of impacts, which directly supports the case for federal assistance like SBA and FEMA programs. Business owners in Pueblo County and Custer County can submit their impacts directly.
- Dial or text 211 to get connected with local agencies and services that can help with immediate and evolving needs.
- Sign up for your county’s emergency alerts at dhsem.colorado.gov/emergencyalert if you haven’t already.
- The IRS Publication 584-B is a useful workbook for documenting business casualty and disaster losses when it comes time to file.
To Our Community: How You Can Help
If you’re not on the front lines of this disaster, you’re probably asking what you can do to help. Here’s where your support goes furthest right now.
Give locally, to communities that need it right now:
- Aspen Acres Fire (Pueblo, Custer, Fremont, Huerfano counties): United Way of Southern Colorado has launched a wildfire relief fund and is working alongside emergency responders, Red Cross, Pueblo County Health Department, and local community partners through the Pueblo Disaster Assistance Center. They’re running a donation and distribution center at 1591 Taos Road in Pueblo, open daily from 7am to 7pm. Financial donations give them the most flexibility to meet needs as they come up.
- Gold Mountain Fire (Ouray, Gunnison counties): Ouray County Fire Fund, hosted by the Telluride Foundation, or you can give directly to the Ouray Volunteer Fire Department.
- Willow Fire (Lake County): Lake County Disaster Relief Fund, through the Lake County Community Fund.
- Ferris Fire (Dolores, Montezuma counties): Cortez Fire Department is accepting donations directly to support their response.
- Snyder Fire (Mesa County): The Mesa County Sheriff’s Office has asked that, rather than physical donations, people give directly to the American Red Cross or the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation, which supports the families of firefighters lost in the line of duty. Three firefighters died fighting the Snyder Fire in late June.
Give statewide, and give where it’s needed most:
- Denver Foundation Critical Needs Fund — from July 1 through August 1, 100% of every gift goes directly to trusted nonprofits supporting people affected by all five fires. The Denver Foundation is also contributing an additional $50,000 from its permanent endowment.
- American Red Cross of Colorado
- World Central Kitchen, providing meals to displaced families and first responders
- Mile High United Way and Airbnb are offering free emergency housing for people displaced by the fires
Beyond giving money:
- Shop from rural businesses, even from a distance. Order online. Buy a gift card for later.
- Share what you’re seeing from official sources only. Fire information changes fast, and consistent, factual updates help more than speculation.
- If you’re near an affected area, check with your county’s emergency management office before showing up to volunteer in person. Many response teams have said clearly that unscheduled volunteers can get in the way of active response efforts.
Lastly, if you are a business owner operating in an area at risk of wildfires, extreme heat, and drought, we encourage you to conduct a risk assessment to understand and prepare for climate-related impacts.
We wrote a few days ago about entrepreneurship as a unifying force, about how rural founders build not just businesses but the identity of their towns. We didn’t know then how quickly that idea would be tested.
Rural Colorado has always known how to rebuild. It’s done it before, and it will do it again, because that’s what this community does. Startup Colorado will keep showing up with resources, connections, and updates as this situation develops. If you’re a founder who needs support, or a partner organization with resources to share, reach out to us directly.
We’re in this together.
— The Startup Colorado Team
Join us in empowering rural entrepreneurs and ecosystem builders to achieve even more in 2026. Contributions of any amount directly power our mission to build a sustainable statewide network of resources supporting rural entrepreneurs, so that people and places can thrive and chart their own futures! Will you help us?
