Hayman Fire

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The Hayman Fire was a forest fire that started southwest of Denver, Colorado on June 8, 2002. For the band, please see The Hayman Fire (Band)

The largest fire in Colorado's history, hundreds of forestry officials and firefighters risked their lives to fight the fast-moving inferno, which caused nearly $40 million in damages, burned 133 homes and forced the evacuation of 5,340 persons. The cause of the wildfire was found to be arson. A federal forestry officer, Terry Barton, who claimed she was attempting to burn a letter from her estranged husband, set the fire inside a campfire ring within an area designated for no fires due to a severe drought. The fire quickly spread out of the campfire ring and eventually torched over 138,000 acres (560 km²) and burned across four different counties.

Ann Dow, 50, suffered a fatal asthma attack on the evening of June 10, 2002 when heavy smoke from the fire drifted over the Dows' home south of Florissant. She quickly lapsed into unconsciousness and paramedics could not revive her. Her death certificate lists the cause as "acute asthma attack due to or as a consequence of smoke inhalation".

Five firefighters died in a traffic accident enroute to the Hayman fire from Oregon: Zach Zigich, Retah Shirley, Jacob Martindale, Danial Rama, and Bart Bailey. They died on June 21, 2002 and are listed in the memorial to fallen firefighters on the Wildland Firefighter Foundation's website.

When then-Governor Bill Owens responded to a reporter’s question following an aerial tour of the fires (“What does it look like up there?”), Owens said “It looks as if all of Colorado is burning today”.^[1] Many western slope residents blamed Owens for driving away tourists with the press’s truncated version of the quote (“All of Colorado is burning”).^[2]

There is a band from Colorado Springs called "The Hayman Fire" named after the blaze