Stars and Bars RestorationGovernor Polis's office put out a hard piece of news late in the day on September 18th: after approving Colorado's Major Disaster Declaration request for the Aspen Acres and Gold Mountain fires — and the flash flooding and debris flows that followed — the Federal Emergency Management Agency turned around and denied two of the biggest pieces of that request. Individual Assistance, the program that helps families with temporary housing, home repairs, and other direct disaster costs, was denied. So was Hazard Mitigation Grant Program funding, the money that helps communities rebuild in ways that reduce future flood and fire risk.
The part that did get approved — Public Assistance — covers debris cleanup on public and private property and reimburses local governments for their disaster response costs. That's real and it matters, especially for Pueblo and Custer counties as they clear burned material and stabilize the watershed above Beulah and Aspen Acres. But Public Assistance doesn't put a check in a homeowner's hand. If you lost a house, or your home flooded when the burn scar above it let go during monsoon season, this denial means the federal government isn't going to be the one writing that check.
We've been covering this disaster since the fires broke out — from the initial disaster declaration through the FEMA/SBA damage assessments in Beulah and the burn-scar flooding that followed. This is an update to that story, and it's not the update anyone wanted. If you're a homeowner in Pueblo or Custer County who was counting on federal Individual Assistance to help rebuild, here's what actually happened and what your options look like now.
What Got Denied, Specifically
According to the Governor's office and multiple outlets that reviewed the September 18th release, FEMA denied two distinct requests tied to the Aspen Acres and Gold Mountain fires:
- Individual Assistance (IA) — direct support to eligible households for temporary housing, home repairs, and essential personal property replacement, plus crisis counseling and related individual-level programs.
- Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP) — funding for projects that reduce future disaster risk, things like drainage improvements and burn-scar stabilization work that could prevent the next flash flood from doing as much damage.
What was approved back on September 4th was Public Assistance for Pueblo, Custer, Dolores, and Ouray counties — reimbursement to local governments and certain nonprofits for emergency response and debris removal, not direct payments to homeowners.
Governor Polis's statement called the approval of the Major Disaster Declaration "the important first step to clear debris and allow communities to begin the process to recover," while saying he was "disappointed" by the denial of the additional individual and mitigation funding. The state has the option to appeal FEMA's decision, and as of this writing that process is still playing out — we'll keep watching it.
What This Means If You Lost a Home or Took Flood Damage
If your property in Aspen Acres, Beulah, Wetmore, Westcliffe, or anywhere else in the Custer or Pueblo County burn/flood zone was damaged and you were hoping FEMA would help cover repairs, that specific door is closed for now, absent a successful appeal. That doesn't mean you're out of options — it means the options that are left matter more than ever:
1. Your homeowner's or flood insurance policy is now your primary path. If you haven't filed a claim yet, do it now. If you have an open claim, this is a good moment to check in with your adjuster about status. Document everything — we've written a full walkthrough on what to do after a house fire and a companion piece on what not to touch after a house fire that applies just as much to post-fire flood damage as it does to the fire itself.
2. SBA disaster loans may still be available. The Small Business Administration sometimes offers low-interest disaster loans to homeowners and renters even when FEMA Individual Assistance isn't approved — these aren't grants, they're loans, but they can be a meaningful bridge for repair costs insurance doesn't cover.
3. State and county recovery resources. Pueblo and Custer counties have both been running local recovery centers and case management for fire survivors. Check with the county emergency management office directly for the latest on what's still open, since this kind of local support tends to shift as the disaster response phase winds down.
4. Document the damage professionally, now, before you touch anything. Whether or not federal aid eventually comes through on appeal, a clear, dated, professional damage assessment is the single most useful thing you can have for an insurance claim, an SBA loan application, or an appeal filing. This is where we come in — even if you're not ready to start repairs, having an IICRC-certified assessment on file protects you.
Why the Denial Doesn't Change the Physical Risk
One thing that hasn't changed with this funding decision: the burn scar above Aspen Acres is still a burn scar, and burned hillsides shed water fast during heavy rain instead of soaking it in. We covered this in detail after the fires first hit containment — see burn-scar flooding in Aspen Acres — and the risk doesn't disappear because a grant application was denied. If anything, without Hazard Mitigation Grant funding for drainage and stabilization work, that risk may stick around longer than anyone would like heading into next year's snowmelt and monsoon season.
If you're in Beulah, Wetmore, Westcliffe, or the Aspen Acres area and you're not sure whether your property sits in a path that burned uphill from you, it's worth a conversation. We know this terrain because we're based right down the road in Colorado City — this is our valley too.
What We Can Do Right Now
Stars & Bars is IICRC certified and veteran-owned, and we've been on the ground for this disaster since the fires broke out. Whether you need:
- A documented damage assessment for your insurance claim or SBA loan application
- Water extraction and structural drying after flood or firefighting-water damage
- Smoke and soot remediation inside a structure that didn't burn but sat in smoke for days
- A second opinion on scope before you sign anything with an out-of-town crew
— call us at (719) 676-2456. We'll walk the property with you, document what we find, and give you a straight answer about what it'll take to put it right, federal funding or not.
This situation is still developing, and we'd rather you hear the honest version from a neighbor than get your hopes up on a headline. If the appeal changes anything, or if the county opens new local assistance programs, we'll keep this page and our Beulah flood damage guide updated. In the meantime, if you're carrying fire or flood damage from this disaster, don't wait on a funding decision to start documenting it — call (719) 676-2456 and we'll help you get started today.