Stay safe near wildfire areas: Download the free Colorado Trail Explorer (COTREX) app to check fire alerts
Bridget O'Rourke
Where there’s smoke, there’s COTREX. Before your next outdoor adventure, check COTREX for active wildfires around the state to stay safe.
DENVER—Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) encourages outdoor recreationists to use the Colorado Trail Explorer (COTREX) mobile app to check active fire alerts before heading out on trails. In light of recent increased fire activity, COTREX is temporarily increasing the frequency of wildfire updates from once a day to once an hour to keep the public informed about active conditions around the state.The COTREX app is a free, user-friendly app that provides authoritative trail information across local, state, and federal agencies. More than 236 land managers have contributed data on 45,076 miles of trail across the state. COTREX is unique in that it works directly and exclusively with land managers, parks, and open spaces to ensure that the information on the platform comes from a reliable, trusted source.
More than 36 agency partners use the COTREX app to post real-time advisories, including wildfire closures, safety hazards, and other essential trail alerts. Users can plan routes, view allowed-use types such as hiking, biking, and OHV, download offline maps, and see trip recommendations from participating partners around the state—all for free.
Know Before You Go
Wildfires are unpredictable, and information on fire restrictions and bans can change rapidly. Before heading outside, COTREX is a valuable tool to help the outdoor community stay safe and informed about travel advisories to avoid hazardous fire conditions and potential search-and-rescue operations.
COTREX lists wildfire and prescribed burn alerts from trusted sources like Inciweb and the National Interagency Fire Center. Alerts will automatically appear on the website and app, providing descriptions, boundaries, and links to additional resources when available.
“COTREX is a one-stop shop for up-to-date trail information,” said CPW State Trails Program Coordinator Joe O'Brien. “We support agencies and outdoor enthusiasts dealing with wildfires by showcasing current conditions around the state. One of the things we’re proud of is our ability to react quickly to emerging situations. As recent fire activity picked up, we’ve been able to work quickly with our team to increase the frequency of updates to the map from once a day to every hour to give the public a better sense of fire activity throughout the day. There are other systems we recommend the public use to track evacuation orders, life-threatening situations, and minute-by-minute updates in dynamic fire events. But if you’re trying to get outside during fire season, COTREX is a great tool to understand what areas are currently impacted by fire.”
Be Careful with Fire
Fire safety is a state-wide effort, and CPW encourages Coloradans and out-of-state visitors to practice fire safety at all times.
- Keep allowable fires small
- Use designated campfire areas when available
- Drown fires out with water until you can touch the embers
- Never leave a campfire unattended
- Avoid parking or driving on dry grass
- Check your tire pressure, exhaust pipes, and if chains or exposed wheel rims are dragging from your vehicle
Join us in keeping Colorado, Colorado. Get a $29 Keep Colorado Wild Pass with your next vehicle registration and support our local search and rescue teams. Learn more at cpw.info/keepcoloradowild and cpw.info/keepcoloradowildpassspanish. Media Toolkit
Colorado Parks and Wildlife created a toolkit to assist with media coverage and educate the public about COTREX and responsible recreation. The media toolkit includes:
- Stock images of wildfire and prescribed burns in Colorado
- Newsletter copy
- Social media assets
- Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) is an enterprise agency, relying primarily on license sales, state parks fees and registration fees to support its operations, including: 43 state parks and more than 350 wildlife areas covering approximately 900,000 acres, management of fishing and hunting, wildlife watching, camping, motorized and non-motorized trails, boating and outdoor education. CPW's work contributes approximately $6 billion in total economic impact annually throughout Colorado.