Colorado’s Front Range saw mountain pine beetle‑caused tree mortality jump almost 150% between 2024 and 2025, according to the Colorado State Forest Service’s 2025 Report on the Health of Colorado’s Forests. The spike coincides with the state’s hottest six‑month period on record and one of the driest Marches in history, raising the specter of more severe wildfires in the wildland‑urban interface.

150% Spike in Beetle‑Killed Acres on Front Range

The aerial detection survey documented beetle damage across 5,544 acres of ponderosa pine in nine Front Range counties in 2025, up from 2,236 acres the previous year. This near‑doubling represents the most dramatic expansion recorded in the survey’s recent history and underscores how quickly the native insect can overwhelm forest defenses when conditions align.

Record Heat and Drought Fueling the Outbreak

Data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration confirm that Colorado endured its hottest average temperatrue on record for the first six months of the water year spanning October 2025 through March 2026. compounding the heat, March 2025 delivered only 0.45 inches of rain, making it the second‑driest March in state history. According to the report, these extreme climate stresses weakened trees’ natural resin defenses, leaving them highly vulnerable to beetle infestation.

Aerial Survey Shows 5,544 Acres Hit in Nine Counties

The survey, a joint effort by the U.S. Forest Service and the Colorado State Forest Service, covered roughly 13.4 million acres in 2025—less than half the 30 million acres surveyed in 2024 due to aircraft, pilot, and funding shortages. Despite the reduced coverage, the data reveal that Larimer, Boulder, Gilpin, Jefferson, Clear Creek, Teller, Park, Douglas and El Paso counties all experienced significant beetle mortality, with expanding activity also noted in Gunnison, Chaffee and Park counites.

Fuel‑Treatment Cuts Threaten Wildfire Preparedness

Nationally, the Center for Western Priorities reports a 35 percent drop in hazardous‑fuel treatments by the U.S. Forest Service in 2025, falling from about 4.1 million acres in 2024 to 2 .6 million acres. colorado’s own treatment acreage slipped by only 1.4 percent, but the overall reduction leaves many high‑risk areas under‑protected as beetle‑killed trees add fuel loads. The report warns that current fire‑behavior models are ill‑suited for predicting blaze dynamics in forests riddled with dead timber, potentially leading to unforeseen fire behavior.

Why Did Survey Coverage Halve in 2025?

The report notes that limited aircraft availability, pilot shortages and constrained funding forced the 2025 aerial survey to shrink dramatically. Without full‑scale detection, some beetle hotspots may remain unrecorded, complicating mitigation planning. As the state grapples with both insect outbreaks and fire risk, the lack of comprehensive data could hinder timely response.