[2] At its peak, the fire forced the evacuation of over 6,000 residents in Estes Park, Chambers Lake, Rustic, Glacier View Meadows, Red Feather Lakes (and surrounding areas), Masonville, Glen Haven, Spring Canyon, various small communities along Highway 14, Stove Prairie Landing Road, as well as the Colorado State University Mountain Campus and had over 1,000 personnel fighting the fire.

[4][5] The Cameron Peak fire was first reported by multiple hikers on August 13, 2020, around 1:48 p.m. in Roosevelt National Forest northwest of the Chambers Lake recreational area.

Fueled by hot and dry weather and steep terrain, the fire burned through heavy beetle kill near Barnes Meadow Reservoir.

[9] Helicopters began dropping water on the west side of Highway 14 and Long Draw Road the following evening, after winds had started pushing the fire in all directions[10] The first evacuation orders went into effect on the same day, with areas around Chambers Lake and Spencer Heights being the first to leave.

[13] Rist Canyon Road was briefly closed due to another wildfire that broke out 3.5 miles (5.6 km) west of U.S. Route 287, but was quickly reopened.

[15] Despite relatively low humidity and hot weather, the fire grew slowly over the last two weeks of August, moving mostly east towards Comanche Peak and Crown Point.

Highway 14's closure was pulled back west to Rustic on September 1, as good firefighting conditions helped keep the fire suppressed.

[15] Heading into Labor Day weekend, red flag conditions were expected, as humidity dropped into the lower single digits and temperatures rose into the upper 70s and low 80s.

[17] An additional 50 fire engines were ordered for structure protection along Highway 14, including Stove Prairie Road, Pingree Park and Buckhorn.

Trail Ridge Road, the popular section of U.S. Route 34 through Rocky Mountain National Park was closed for many days due to the proximity of the fire and the potential for low visibility and heavy smoke.

[21] On the evening of September 27, wind gusts over 60 miles per hour pushed the fire northeast and southeast another 13,000 acres, resulting in mandatory evacuations reaching through the Highway 14 corridor once again, and many campsites on the northern end of Rocky Mountain National Park.

[24] Red flag conditions continued, as high winds grounded aircraft again and led to flare ups within the burning interior of the fire.

[27] Easterly blowing winds, combined with rapid fire growth, led to large smoke plumes visible across the cities of Fort Collins and Loveland.

On October 16, U.S. Route 34, a main east-west highway artery into Estes Park, was closed due to extreme fire behavior and emergency operations.

[29] High winds pushed the fire's rapidly growing pyrocumulonimbus cloud over the cities of Fort Collins and Loveland and over the Colorado eastern plains.

"[2] The "Thompson Zone" portion of the East Troublesome fire eventually led to the evacuation of the entire town of Estes Park on October 22.

[2] Cooler temperatures and snowstorms helped firefighters regain control of the blaze over the final week of October, allowing for helicopters and air tankers to do water and slurry drops in affected areas.

Firefighters decided to let the last remaining portion of the fire, contained to a small pond where it was still smoldering underneath the soil, burn out northwest of the Colorado State University Mountain Campus[38] The Cameron Peak fire torched 208,663 acres (84,443 ha) in Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forests and Rocky Mountain National Park in both Larimer and Jackson Counties and cost nearly $134 million to fight.

[42] A letter written to Democratic and Republican law makers in the House of Representatives and Senate calls for cash for cities to keep firefighters on payroll, payment of resources, investments of risk-mitigation systems, federal support for late-season hotshot crews and other federal-level fire response efforts, local-level recovery efforts to revitalize the health of the environment, water quality and community economies after wildfires.

[43] On March 21, Colorado governor Jared Polis signed two bills aimed at helping provide wildfire response and management for the future.

U.S. Route 34 and Highway 14 were both closed for extended periods of time during the fires, with the latter not reopening until late October due to heavy firefighting traffic and equipment.

[45] Approximately 20,000 people were evacuated from their homes due to both fires, including the entire town of Estes Park, parts of Granby, Grand Lake, Lady Moon, Red Feather Highlands, Red Feather Lakes, Crystal Lakes, County Road 27 to Big Bear Road, Rist Canyon Road, Highway 14 from Gateway to Stove Prairie Park, Crystal Mountain, Bobcat Ridge, Buckskin Heights, Redstone Canyon, Storm Mountain, The Retreat, Pingree Park and many other locations across Larimer and Jackson Counties.

[50] The United States Forest Service (USFS) released its Burned Area Emergency Response (BAER) report on January 5, citing that the potential impacts on life and safety are considered "major.