Home Care In Dacono, CO

A 2.9 magnitude earthquake near Dacono provided a jarring wakeup for some Coloradans, with the shaking reported some 20 miles away into the Denver area.

The U.S. Geological Survey said the temblor had an epicenter about 3 miles southwest of Dacono.

The quake was not the largest in Colorado in 2025 — that honor goes to a 3.2 quake that rumbled about 21 miles west of Delta on April 3. But the Dacono quake likely stood out because it was relatively close to a large population center. Reports of people feeling the jolts stretched into Thornton and over to Erie.

While minor, the event was a reminder along the Front Range that Colorado can have earthquakes, and good preparation is important in the event of more significant shaking.

Are earthquakes common in Colorado?

Somewhat. There have been 20 reported in the past year on Earthquake Track, a website that logs seismic activity around the world. They’re just not that large and not usually close to cities.

The largest in the 365 days prior to the Dacono quake was a 3.4 earthquake near Salida on Oct. 26, 2024, according to the USGS.

Where are earthquakes likeliest to happen in Colorado?

Colorado has thousands of faults, but only five have been studied enough and determined to be active enough to end up on the USGS’s National Seismic Hazard Map. They are the Cheraw Fault in southeastern Colorado, Northern Sangre de Cristo Fault in south central Colorado, the Williams Fork Mountains Fault in southwestern Colorado, the Sawatch Fault in central Colorado and the Gore Range Frontal Fault, the closest major fault near the Denver area.

The Colorado Geological Survey says it is likely that more faults have similar potential but have not been studied closely enough. In all, it says, it is impossible currently to predict the time or location of the next big Colorado earthquake.

When was the last major earthquake in Colorado?

It has never had one recorded, based on seismologists’ definition of a major earthquake having a 7.0 or greater magnitude.

The strongest earthquake ever reported in Colorado was on Nov. 7, 1882, estimated as a 6.6 magnitude temblor. The epicenter has been difficult to pin down based on historical data, although estimates put it roughly 60 miles away from Denver in the northern Front Range.

The Denver area accidentally became one of the most seismically active areas in the country in the 1960s. An attempt to dispose of chemicals from the Rocky Mountain National Arsenal by injecting them deep into the ground is believed to have triggered several years of seismic instability that caused property damage throughout the area. More than 1,500 earthquakes emanated along the Derby Fault from 1961 to 1967, including multiple quakes of 5.0 or greater magnitude.

The largest quake recorded since then had a 5.3 magnitude on Aug. 22, 2011, with an epicenter about 15 miles southwest of Salida.

What should you do in an earthquake?

Shaking is usually very brief, meaning you don’t have a lot of time to react when an earthquake hits. Colorado Emergency Management has several recommendations of what to do when an earthquake starts:

What can you do before an earthquake to prepare?

There are several steps you can take to prepare for an earthquake.

What else can you do to prepare for an earthquake?

The Great Colorado ShakeOut, billed as the state’s largest earthquake drill, is scheduled for Oct. 16. It is a coordinated day for individuals, businesses, public spaces and more to practice what to do in the event of an earthquake. Interested parties can sign up at the event’s website.

Nate Trela covers trending news in Colorado and Utah for the USA TODAY Network.

DACONO, Colo. — More than 500 people reported feeling a 2.9 magnitude earthquake near Dacono Friday morning.

Calls from Thornton to Firestone poured into the Denver7 newsroom Friday morning. They reported feeling their homes shake and even hearing some loud booms.

"It kind of felt like a door slamming, like my heavy garage door slamming," Dacono resident Kyle Browski told Denver7.

No injuries or damage have been reported.

Denver7 anchor Jessica Porter talked with William Barnhart with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), who said the agency received more than 500 "Did You Feel It?" reports

“Normally, we wouldn't think of a magnitude 2.9 earthquake as something that would really draw a lot of attention, but when it happens in an area like the northern Denver suburbs, it draws a lot of attention,” Barnhart told Porter.

Barnhart said Friday's earthquake was just five miles deep, and that shallow depth is why so many people felt it.

An earthquake of this size in Colorado is surprising, so Denver7 is getting answers about how rare earthquakes are here and what causes them.

“Colorado is an interesting place because earthquakes are kind of rare, but also they happen,” Barnhart said. “There's been 12 earthquakes of magnitude three or larger since the 1960s.”

The largest earthquake ever recorded here was in North-Central Colorado in 1882. Known as “The Big One” at 6.6 magnitude, the earthquake broke electrical generators loose in Denver, knocking out power.

So what’s behind those loud booming sounds? While Barnhart said some of those sounds can be attributed to homes creaking from the tremor. There is a more natural explanation.

“That's pretty common, especially for earthquakes in sort of east of the Rockies, is that there's an auditory boom from them,” Barnhart said. “When those seismic waves hit the Earth's surface, there's a coupling there that can create an audible sound.”

While most earthquakes are caused by sudden movements of the earth along fault lines. Colorado can experience induced seismicity from human activities such as fracking for oil and gas. Barnhart said it is too early to tell what caused the shaking in Dacono.

If you want to record your experience of the earthquake near Dacono, the USGS encourages you to file a Did You Feel It report on their website. The data helps them understand the impacts of earthquakes.

Dacono, CO – A minor earthquake shook communities north of Denver early Friday morning, catching residents off guard with light tremors across parts of the metro area.

According to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), the magnitude 2.9 earthquake struck at approximately 6:08 a.m. local time, with its epicenter located about 5 kilometers south-southwest of Dacono, Colorado. The quake originated at a shallow depth of 8.2 kilometers, contributing to its perceptibility in surrounding areas.

Although the tremor was relatively minor in magnitude, the USGS reported more than 130 responses from residents on its “Did You Feel It?” page, many of whom reported light shaking consistent with Intensity IV on the Modified Mercalli scale. The shaking was felt in communities across Boulder, Broomfield, Thornton, and parts of northern Denver.

There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries as of Friday morning, and emergency services have not issued any warnings or advisories. Earthquakes of this size are not uncommon along Colorado’s Front Range but rarely cause structural damage.

Dacono, situated in Weld County, lies within a region of low to moderate seismic activity. Still, local officials and geologists occasionally monitor for tectonic movement or induced seismicity related to energy development.

Seismologists advise residents that while Friday’s quake was mild, it serves as a reminder that even low-magnitude events can be felt across broad areas, particularly when shallow. The USGS encourages residents who experienced the shaking to submit felt reports to assist with scientific understanding and hazard mapping.

No further seismic activity has been reported in the area at this time. Authorities will continue monitoring for aftershocks or related seismic movement throughout the day.

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Two southern Weld County communities are trying a novel strategy to force oil and gas operator K.P. Kauffman to plug old wells that they say are a potential threat to safety and an obstacle to development.

The town of Frederick and its Carbon Valley neighbor, Dacono, are using a revised section of the Colorado Energy and Carbon Management Commission’s rules to petition for the commission to order the company, known as KPK, to plug and abandon 45 wells.

The communities have identified the wells as no longer being “used or useful” and say they pose a threat to public health, safety and welfare and want the ECMC to order them be plugged and abandoned.

This had been a power reserved for the ECMC, but in 2022, when the commission adopted new financial assurance rules, it broadened this section of the rules to allow relevant local governments to petition for closures.

This is the first time a local government has tried to exercise this power. ECMC hearings on the petition are set to begin Wednesday.

It is not, however, the first time Frederick has tried to get KPK wells plugged. In 2023, the two communities tried to use the commission’s new financial assurance rules to get 95 wells plugged. The wells, they said, hampered development. They were unsuccessful.

Denver-based KPK is facing a $1.9 million fine for violations, having run up 148 violation notices since 2020, according to state records — and has been legally sparring with the ECMC for the past three years.

KPK in its prehearing statement contended that the rule, Section 211, was being misapplied and that an order to plug the wells would “strip KPK of its valuable assets and mineral leaseholds without just compensation.”

The company also said that the oil and gas consultants the municipalities employed had underestimated the value of the oil and gas in the wells and overestimated well costs.

In documents obtained through discovery, KPK contended that the municipalities coordinated with developers to identify wells holding up development to include in the application.

“Making way for surface development is not a proper purpose of Rule 211, and the application should be denied on this basis alone,” the oil and gas operator said.

“The subject wells, and the underlying leaseholds, have significant value, and do not pose the threats to (public health, safety, welfare and the environment) alleged,” KPK said. “The subject wells should not be plugged and abandoned by the commission, and certainly without just compensation.”

There are 95 KPK wells in Frederick that produce little or no oil or gas and there are 59 KPK wells in Dacono, but the municipalities targeted 26 wells in Frederick and 19 in Dacono that are closest to homes, schools and parks.

In a filing Frederick said “the threat the 26 subject wells and locations pose are due to the numerous spills that have occurred within Frederick but also their proximity to homes.”

There have been 45 reported KPK spills in Frederick since 2018, including four in a two-week period in January, according to an ECMC filing.

Twenty of the wells are located within 500 feet of homes, in one case 76 homes are within 500 feet of a well.

The main battleground at the hearing, which will run over several days, will be an assessment of each well.

For example Dacono’s oil and gas consultant evaluated KPK’s Cosslett A 4 well, just southeast of the rapidly developing intersection of Interstate 25 and Colorado 52, which has not produced oil or gas in three years, and found it had an operating loss for that period and therefore was no longer “used and useful.”

When a well is no longer used and useful, under state rules it should be plugged and abandoned.

KPK, however, disputed the Dacono findings saying that by its assessment the well still has $143,400 of total proven value and that it hasn’t produced because it is under a closure order from the ECMC.

Other oil and gas operators in the communities, including Occidental Petroleum, Civitas and PDC Energy (now part of Chevron), have plugged dozens of wells, Frederick and Dacono said in a filing. KPK has plugged a few wells, but only when paid to do so.

“KPK should have plugged and abandoned its old wells years ago,” the municipalities said. “The reason KPK has not done so is because KPK demands $250,000 or more to plug and abandon a well to profit from its plugging liability obligations at the expense of landowners or the public.”

Based on facts, either observed and verified directly by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.