DENVER - Today, Governor Polis verbally declared a disaster emergency in response to the Poitrey Canyon Fire burning in Las Animas County. This fire is currently estimated at over 2,000 acres.

This verbal declaration activates the State Emergency Operations Plan and directs the Department of Public Safety and its Divisions of Homeland Security and Emergency Management (DHSEM) and Fire Prevention and Control (DFPC) to take responsibility for all response, recovery, and mitigation efforts on the Poitrey Canyon Fire. This support includes State and interagency engines and handcrews, DFPC and interagency aviation resources, and incident management personnel and overhead to assist in management of the fire and containment efforts.  In addition, DFPC is supporting Las Animas County and the incident with administrative and financial oversight and intelligence products that include imaging, mapping, and fire behavior modeling and projects.