Kit Carson, Colorado
13 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1891 and the latest in 1982. It stands in the Kit Carson census division. It lies in ZIP code area 80825. It stands on Wild Horse Creek. The Survey maps it on the Kit Carson quadrangle. 255 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 4,285 feet above sea level.
Population over time
2 figuresKit Carson grew from 233 to 255 between 2010 and 2020. These are the recorded population figures Wikidata holds for this place, reached through the Geographic Names Information System number this page is keyed on rather than by name, so they belong to this place and not to another of the same name. Most are census counts, but not all are: an early figure may be a founding or settlement estimate, and an estimate published within five years of a census is left out. The change column is computed, and is left blank where more than 20 years separate a figure from the one before it, because a gap that long is not a change between two counts.
| Year | People | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 233 | |
| 2020 | 255 | +22 (+9%) |
Topographic sheets covering this place
6 surveys from 13 printed sheetsMatched by testing this settlement's coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet in the United States Geological Survey's historical collection. Each opens the scanned sheet at the Survey.
- 1891 USGS Kit Carson quadrangle1:125000
- 1893 USGS Kit Carson quadrangle1:125000, 5 printings
- 1954 USGS Lamar quadrangle1:250000, 3 printings
- 1958 USGS Lamar quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1981 USGS Cheyenne Wells quadrangle1:100000
- 1982 USGS Kit Carson quadrangle1:24000
Fires near this place
62 since 1995Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 62 fires within 5 miles of Kit Carson between 1995 and 2020, burning about 895 acres in total. 9 started naturally. None was recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Reported cause | Fires |
|---|---|
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 37 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 11 |
| Natural | 9 |
| Debris and open burning | 2 |
| Smoking | 2 |
| Other causes | 1 |
The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.
| Date | Cause | Size | Reported by | Name on the report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 September 2014 | Equipment and vehicle use | under an acre | West Cheyenne Fire Protection District (Kit Carson Volunteer Fire Department) | UNKNOWN |
| 6 September 2017 | Equipment and vehicle use | under an acre | West Cheyenne Fire Protection District (Kit Carson Volunteer Fire Department) | UNKNOWN |
| 30 September 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Colorado State Forest Service-State Headquarters | not named |
| 21 September 2010 | Natural | under an acre | Colorado State Forest Service-State Headquarters | not named |
| 20 September 2010 | Natural | 50 acres | Colorado State Forest Service-State Headquarters | not named |
| 9 August 2018 | Equipment and vehicle use | under an acre | West Cheyenne Fire Protection District (Kit Carson Volunteer Fire Department) | UNKNOWN |
| 5 August 2018 | Natural | under an acre | West Cheyenne Fire Protection District (Kit Carson Volunteer Fire Department) | UNKNOWN |
| 25 August 2017 | Natural | under an acre | West Cheyenne Fire Protection District (Kit Carson Volunteer Fire Department) | UNKNOWN |
Mines and quarries near this place
2 within 5 milesRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 2 workings within 5 miles of Kit Carson: 1 occurrence, 1 past producer. None of them still produces. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
Storms near this place
60 of 192 shownRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Kit Carson in 192 storm reports between 1993 and 2026: 128 hail, 51 thunderstorm wind, 10 tornado, 2 flash flood. The reports record 2 injuries. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 2016 | Thunderstorm Wind | Kit Carson | 2 hurt, $30,000 | The intense thunderstorm winds blew the roof off the house. Two people in the house were directly injured from the thunderstorm winds. |
| April 2010 | Hail | Kit Carson | $100,000 | Observer reported ten windows were broken in his house, two vehicles completely damaged beyond repair, and hail damage to all buildings. |
| May 2016 | Thunderstorm Wind | Kit Carson | $80,000 | Two to possibly three roofs have collapsed in town and numerous trees have been blown down. Several semis have also been blown over Highway 287 and there are power lines across the highway due to power poles being blown down. |
| May 2007 | Flood | Kit Carson | $75,000 | Eureka Creek railroad bridge, just north of Hwy 40 about 6 miles ENE of Kit Carson, washed out. Water was also reported flowing over Highway 40. Law enforcement also reported flooding of county road 27 (south of U.S. highway 40) in this same area. Road 43 north of Cheyenne Wells was also reported to be covered with water from this same heavy rain event. |
| September 2014 | Thunderstorm Wind | Kit Carson | $25,000 | Roof blown off of a house in town. Time estimated by radar. |
| July 1998 | Thunderstorm Wind | Kit Carson | $3,000 | A possible heat burst from high altitude blew a roof from a shed. |
| July 2022 | Thunderstorm Wind | Kit Carson | $1,000 | A tree in Kit Carson was uprooted by thunderstorm wind gusts. The rain soaked soil may have helped the tree be blown over. |
| July 2018 | Hail | Kit Carson | $1,000 | At least one vehicle window was broken by the hail. |
| June 2011 | Thunderstorm Wind | Kit Carson | $1,000 | A power pole was snapped off at the base. |
| May 2013 | Hail | Kit Carson | $500 | no account filed |
| June 2013 | Thunderstorm Wind | Kit Carson | $200 | Three inch diameter green tree limb blown down due to severe winds. Visibility also dropped to near zero at times due to blowing dust. Estimated wind gust based on radar. |
| April 2026 | Thunderstorm Wind | Kit Carson | - | Measured by a storm chaser using a handheld anemometer. The strong winds produced 2 miles visibility in blowing dust. |
| April 2026 | Thunderstorm Wind | Kit Carson | - | Measured by a Union Pacific Railroad mesonet. |
| April 2025 | Hail | Kit Carson | - | Report sent in via mPING. |
| April 2025 | Hail | Kit Carson | - | Report of golf ball size hail. Windows were knocked out of buildings as well at location. |
| June 2025 | Hail | Kit Carson | - | Picture from social media of estimated 1 inch hail. |
| May 2025 | Hail | Kit Carson | - | Public picture of estimated tennis ball sized hail stone. |
| May 2025 | Hail | Kit Carson | - | MPing report of Baseball sized hail. |
| May 2025 | Hail | Kit Carson | - | MPing report of 2.25 inch hail. |
| May 2025 | Tornado (EFU) | Kit Carson | - | Off duty NWS employee and other storm chaser live stream shows tornado ongoing. EM called and confirmed tornado just south of town. |
| May 2025 | Hail | Kit Carson | - | COOP observer reports 1.75 inch hail. |
| May 2025 | Hail | Kit Carson | - | Public report of 1 inch hail. |
| May 2025 | Hail | Kit Carson | - | MPing report of 1.75 inch hail. |
| May 2025 | Hail | Kit Carson | - | Estimated 1.5 to 2 inch hail. |
| July 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Kit Carson | - | Mesonet station UP729 0.5 W Kit Carson reported the wind gust. |
| July 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Kit Carson | - | Site UP729 reported wind gust of 62 mph. |
| August 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Kit Carson | - | The mesonet site UPR KTCRSN in Kit Carson reported the wind gust. |
| May 2024 | Hail | Kit Carson | - | Copious amounts of hail fell ranging from pea to quarter size. |
| May 2024 | Hail | Kit Carson | - | Largest hail was the size of a quarter. |
| July 2024 | Hail | Kit Carson | - | MPING report of penny size hail. |
| June 2024 | Hail | Kit Carson | - | Hail up to 1.5 inch from spotter's live feed. |
| June 2024 | Thunderstorm Wind | Kit Carson | - | Spotter network report of one power pole snapped on east side of the highway. |
| June 2024 | Hail | Kit Carson | - | Public report of estimated 2 inch diameter hail. |
| June 2024 | Hail | Kit Carson | - | Spotter provided pictures showing several large hail stones approximately two inches in diameter. |
| June 2024 | Hail | Kit Carson | - | Public report of estimated 2 inch diameter hail. |
| June 2023 | Hail | Kit Carson | - | The hail may have been larger in size. The heavy rainfall made size estimation difficult while driving. |
| August 2023 | Thunderstorm Wind | Kit Carson | - | Trained spotter reported weather station measured 65 mph thunderstorm wind gust. |
| July 2022 | Thunderstorm Wind | Kit Carson | - | Outflow winds associated with a cluster of thunderstorms moving over Cheyenne County were estimated to produce up to 60 mph wind gusts north of Kit Carson, Colorado. |
| July 2022 | Thunderstorm Wind | Kit Carson | - | A band of storms moving across Cheyenne County produced wind gusts up to 60 mph east of Kit Carson, Colorado. |
| June 2022 | Thunderstorm Wind | Kit Carson | - | Report received of a estimated 65 mph thunderstorm wind gust at location. |
| June 2022 | Hail | Kit Carson | - | Dispatch relayed a report of heavy rain with hail up to a quarter in size around mile marker 129 on Highway 287. |
| June 2022 | Hail | Kit Carson | - | Law enforcement reported heavy rainfall and hail up to a penny in size in the town of Kit Carson. |
| April 2021 | Thunderstorm Wind | Kit Carson | - | An embedded supercell at the southern edge of a line of storms produced estimated 60 mph wind gusts for a duration of two minutes along County Road 22. |
| June 2021 | Hail | Kit Carson | - | Report received of golf ball sized hail at location. |
| June 2021 | Thunderstorm Wind | Kit Carson | - | Trained spotter reported estimated 55-60 mph winds along with pea sized hail at location for a brief period. |
| July 2021 | Thunderstorm Wind | Kit Carson | - | Cheyenne County Dispatch reported blowing dust associated with outflow from a thunderstorm moving over the town of Kit Carson. Visibility was reported down to near-zero. A mesonet station 1 mile west of town recorded a 51 mph wind gust as the outflow moved over the site. |
| May 2021 | Thunderstorm Wind | Kit Carson | - | Deputy reported estimated 60-70 mph wind gusts with dime sized hail at location. |
| May 2021 | Hail | Kit Carson | - | Dime size hail was reported with wind gusts of 60-70 MPH. |
| May 2021 | Hail | Kit Carson | - | Trained spotter reported via the spotter network of ongoing hail at the start time. Hail ranged from pea to quarter sized with most of the hail being nickel sized. Time duration is radar estimated. |
| May 2021 | Hail | Kit Carson | - | Report of hail up to penny size at location received via mPing. |
| June 2020 | Hail | Kit Carson | - | Trained spotter reported dime size hail at location. |
| August 2020 | Thunderstorm Wind | Kit Carson | - | Mesonet station UP729 reported a 62 mph thunderstorm wind gust at location. |
| July 2020 | Thunderstorm Wind | Kit Carson | - | Trained spotter reported estimated 60 mph wind gusts with sustained winds of 30 to 40 mph. Pea size hail was also reported at the location. |
| June 2019 | Thunderstorm Wind | Kit Carson | - | Estimated gust. |
| August 2019 | Hail | Kit Carson | - | A trained spotter confirmed a few hailstones were as big as a quarter in a field after the storm had passed. |
| August 2019 | Tornado (EFU) | Kit Carson | - | A storm chaser reported a brief landspout tornado on the ground for approximately 2 minutes about 5 miles south-southwest of Kit Carson. |
| July 2018 | Hail | Kit Carson | - | Three pigs, an unknown number of cattle and antelope were killed as the storm moved through. |
| May 2016 | Thunderstorm Wind | Kit Carson | - | Trained spotter estimated 90 MPH wind gusts as the storms moved through. |
| May 2016 | Hail | Kit Carson | - | The hail came down sideways due to the strong wind. |
| May 2016 | Tornado (EF0) | Kit Carson | - | Touched down roughly two miles east of Highway 287 just south of CR C. The landspout moved little if any during its lifetime. No damage was reported as it remained in unpopulated areas of the county. |
Nearest settlements
The eight closest, with where each one stands in the county. Distances are straight-line, computed from the Geographic Names Information System coordinates.
| Map | Place | Distance | Sheets |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fort Big Spring | 12.1 miles | 13 | |
| Wild Horse | 12.6 miles | 12 | |
| Firstview | 13.8 miles | 13 | |
| Mount Pearl | 13.9 miles | 13 | |
| Aroya | 18.9 miles | 12 | |
| Cheyenne Wells | 23.5 miles | 14 | |
| Old Wells | 26.3 miles | 14 | |
| Arapahoe | 32.8 miles | 14 |
Elsewhere
Matched on this settlement's Geographic Names Information System number rather than its name, so it cannot be a different place of the same name in another state.
| Wikipedia article on Kit Carson | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q1872356 | The structured record the population and elevation above come from. Public domain (CC0). |
Provenance
This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 195254. The sheet list is computed by point-in-boundary test against the United States Geological Survey's historical topographic inventory. Both are works of the United States government and carry no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.
Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.





