Stars and Bars RestorationWe've written about the Aspen Acres Fire and the burn-scar flooding that followed it more times this summer than we ever wanted to. But this week brought something genuinely new: on August 23, Governor Polis formally requested a Major Disaster Declaration from President Trump and FEMA to help fund recovery from the Aspen Acres Fire and the Gold Mountain Fire out near Ouray. This is a different, more concrete step than the "assessments are underway" stage we covered a few weeks ago, so we wanted to lay out exactly what it says, what it doesn't say yet, and what we think homeowners in Pueblo and Custer counties should actually be doing in the meantime.
What Was Actually Requested
According to Colorado's Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management (DHSEM), the governor's request asks for two different kinds of federal help, split by fire and by county:
Individual Assistance (IA) for Pueblo and Custer counties, tied to the Aspen Acres Fire. If approved, IA is money and services that go directly to eligible households — things like temporary housing assistance, help repairing a damaged primary home, replacement of essential personal property, and crisis counseling. That's the piece most relevant to homeowners reading this.
Public Assistance (PA) for Pueblo, Custer, and Ouray counties. PA helps state and local governments, public utilities, and certain nonprofits cover debris removal, emergency protective measures, and repairs to roads, water systems, electric grids and other public infrastructure. Importantly for homeowners, the request also asks for private-property debris removal in Pueblo and Custer counties — that is the piece that can cover hauling burned structural debris, and appliances, off your own lot.
The state is asking that the official "incident period" — the window FEMA would use to determine what damage counts — run from June 27, 2026 through July 29, 2026, covering both the fire and the debris-flow flooding that followed it into the Beulah and San Isabel area. The Aspen Acres Fire itself burned more than 100,000 acres across Pueblo and Custer counties before it was contained.
What This Doesn't Mean Yet
Here's the part we think is important to say plainly: a request is not an approval. A major disaster declaration is entirely at the president's discretion, and Colorado has a recent, rough track record on this front. In 2025, Governor Polis requested major disaster declarations for the Elk and Lee Fires and for historic flooding in Western Colorado — both requests were denied, and the state had to file formal appeals. There's no guarantee the Aspen Acres and Gold Mountain request goes any differently.
We're not saying that to be pessimistic — we're saying it because we don't want anyone in Beulah, San Isabel, or Colorado City to put off dealing with their own damage while they wait to see what Washington decides. That decision could take weeks, and depending on how it goes, it might not cover everything you're dealing with anyway.
What We Think Homeowners Should Do Right Now
Whether or not the declaration comes through, none of the following steps hurt, and all of them help your case either way:
Document everything, today, before more storms hit. Photos and video of flood lines, damaged drywall, ruined flooring, and anything else affected — dated, ideally with a phone that timestamps automatically. If you already have some of this from earlier flooding this summer, don't assume you're covered for damage from the most recent storm too; document each event separately if you can.
Keep every receipt. Temporary lodging, cleaning supplies, a shop-vac you bought at 10pm because your basement was filling up — all of it. If IA assistance is approved, reimbursement claims move faster with a paper trail. If it isn't approved, your homeowner's or flood insurance adjuster will still want to see it.
Call your insurance company now, not after a declaration. A federal disaster declaration doesn't replace your insurance policy — it's a separate track that can supplement it, if it happens at all. Standard homeowner's policies typically don't cover flood damage from surface water, which is exactly what burn-scar flooding is. If you don't already have a flood policy or an endorsement, ask your agent directly what you're covered for, in writing.
Register with Colorado 211 if you haven't. Dial 211 for information on what state and local assistance is currently available in Pueblo and Custer counties — that's a real, active resource line regardless of what happens with the federal request.
Don't let water damage sit while you wait on paperwork. This is the part we see go wrong most. A homeowner is doing everything right on the insurance and assistance side, but the actual water sitting in their crawl space or soaked into their drywall keeps doing damage every day it's not addressed — and mold doesn't wait for FEMA. We covered this same tension in our FEMA and SBA disaster assessment guide back when the assessments were just starting, and it's still true now: the paperwork process and the physical drying-out process need to happen at the same time, not one after the other.
The Flash Flood Risk Isn't Over
As of this week, the National Weather Service still has a Flash Flood Watch in effect for the Wet Mountains and the Pueblo vicinity, including Rye and the areas below the Aspen Acres burn scar — a reminder that this isn't a one-time event still being cleaned up, it's an ongoing risk every time a heavy thunderstorm rolls through the burned hillside above Beulah. If you're in that area, keep an eye on alerts through the rest of monsoon season, and don't assume a storm that looks routine on the forecast will stay that way once it hits scorched, bare ground upstream of your house. We wrote more about what that risk looks like for wells and plumbing specifically in our Beulah well water and plumbing safety piece.
We're Not Waiting on Washington Either
Stars and Bars Restoration has had crews in and out of Beulah, San Isabel, and the surrounding areas all summer, and that's not changing based on whether a federal declaration comes through. We're IICRC certified and veteran-owned, based right here in Colorado City, and we answer our own phone 24/7. If you've got water damage from this summer's flooding, sitting and waiting to see what the federal government decides is the one thing that will make it worse. Call us at (719) 676-2456 and we'll come look at what you're dealing with — no waiting on a declaration required. For active flooding or an emergency situation right now, that same number, (719) 676-2456, gets you a live person any time, day or night.