Dinosaur Fire and Boulder Airport

Airport Neighborhood Campaign

Written by
July 13, 2024

July 7, 2024

We do not love the politicization of emergency response. However, emergency response is rightly part of the conversation around closing the airport and it's important for the public to have factual information.





On July 12, 2024, a small fire broke out near Dinosaur rock in the open space west of Boulder, less than a mile from NCAR. As of the morning of July 13, city staff report that the fire is being contained and there is no danger to the city. 


The Airport Neighborhood Campaign sends a sincere thank you to the brave folks who stopped the Dinosaur fire...ground crew, aerial resources, and support staff.

We are aware of, and grateful for, aircraft that came from Rocky Mountain Metro Airport (Broomfield), Fort Collins Airport, and Centennial Airport to fight the Dinosaur fire.

We are not aware of any aircraft from the Boulder Airport (BDU) that fought the Dinosaur fire. We are seeking to verify this with the BDU airport manager.*

Most modern fire-fighting planes (fixed-wing aircraft) are too large and heavy to safely use BDU's runways. There are emergency helicopters (rotor aircraft) for fire, flood, and medical that use BDU. The ballot initiative Repurpose Our Runways would close the airport but allow continued use of the site by emergency helicopters. For more information, see our FAQ on emergency response at BDU. 


*Update July 15, 2024. The Airport Neighborhood Campaign received confirmation in an email from Boulder airport manager John Kinney that no aircraft used BDU. He writes, "No aircraft supporting the Dinosaur fire utilized the Boulder Airport.  We came to this conclusion after reviewing FAA radar tracks into and out of BDU for the day. Firefighting helos deployed from RMMA with fixed wing deployments from Northern Colorado Regional Airport (Ft Collins). A final aircraft deployed from Eastern CO stopping in at Centennial Airport briefly…. fuel stop? Helo ops utilized nearby lakes to refill and return to attack the fire. Hayden Lake was not used."

Hayden Lake is a privately-owned lake adjacent to the city-owned airport site. 

*Update July 19, 2024. Daily Camera article confirms with city spokesperson Aisha Ozaslan that the Boulder Airport was not used in the Dinosaur Fire response. "She said while there were aircraft that responded to the fire, they came from other airports such as the Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport in Broomfield, the North Colorado Regional Airport in Loveland and the Centennial Airport in Englewood. 'No resources to combat the fire came from the Boulder Municipal Airport, including Hayden Lake,' Ozaslan wrote in an email. Hayden Reservoir is a 41-acre body of water next to the airport." https://www.dailycamera.com/2024/07/18/aircraft-that-responded-to-boulders-dinosaur-fire-came-from-nearby-cities/