Press Releases

DENVER - Gov. Polis today provided an update on the wildfires burning in Western Colorado as well as the state’s response to COVID-19. The Governor was joined by Stan Hilkey, executive director of the Department of Public Safety; Dan Gibbs, executive director of the Department of Natural Resources and certified wildland firefighter who has been on the ground fighting the Grizzly Creek Fire; and Dr. Alexis W. Burakoff, MD, MPH, Medical Epidemiologist at the Department of Public Health and Environment.

DENVER - Colorado Governor Jared Polis joined bipartisan Governors today from Oregon, Washington, Michigan, Illinois, North Carolina, New York, and Vermont, in calling on U.S. Department of Commerce Secretary Willbur Ross Jr. and U.S. Census Bureau Director Steven Dillingham, Ph.D. to restore the deadline of the United States 2020 Census.

DENVER - Governor Jared Polis extended Executive Orders in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Air Quality Control Commission

The Commission develops and maintains a comprehensive program for the prevention and control of air pollution in Colorado. The major goal of this program is to meet national ambient air quality standards.

for terms expiring January 31, 2023:

• Michael Ogletree of Denver, Colorado, a person with appropriate scientific and technical training or experience, appointed;

DENVER - Governor Jared Polis today extended and amended an Executive Order requiring Coloradans to wear face coverings. The amendment clarifies that individuals performing life rites are exempt from the face covering mandate while a life rite is being performed. “Life rites” include wedding ceremonies, graduations, funeral services, baptisms, bris ceremonies, and other religious ceremonies. The Executive Order expires 30 days from August 14.

EAGLE - Gov. Jared Polis today visited Incident Command centers in Eagle and Grand Junction to meet with emergency responders working on the front lines to combat the Grizzly Creek and Pine Gulch fires. The Governor was joined by the Department of Public Safety Executive Director Stan Hilkey and Department of Transportation Executive Director Shoshana Lew.

DENVER - Governor Jared Polis extended an Executive Order suspending statutes to allow the operation of alternate care sites in Colorado.

DENVER - Today, Results for America and the National Governors Association highlighted Colorado’s exemplary use of evidence and data to improve results for Coloradans.

DENVER - The Pine Gulch and Grizzly Creek Fires on Colorado’s Western Slope are a reminder that we are still in Colorado’s core fire season. Colorado’s wildland-urban interface communities are particularly threatened by wildfires and current conditions include a lack of moisture, distressed vegetation, extreme fire weather (Red Flag warnings), and overgrown and beetle-killed forests. These conditions need only an ignition source in order for a disaster to occur.

DENVER - Gov. Jared Polis and Colorado’s legislative leadership today called on the U.S. Senate to pass a real relief package that provides support to Colorado schools and state and local governments and extends unemployment insurance for Coloradans in response to the challenges created by the COVID-19 global pandemic.