One wildfire burning on Colorado’s Western Slope is less than 300 acres away from becoming the state’s fourth-largest fire on record.
The 137,485-acre Lee fire burning between Meeker and Rifle in Rio Blanco County is Colorado’s fifth-largest wildfire.
Colorado’s fourth-largest fire on record, the 137,760-acre Hayman fire that sparked in 2002, is only 275 acres larger than the Lee fire. The Lee fire is also just over 1,500 acres from surpassing the 139,007-acre Pine Gulch fire from 2020, Colorado’s third-largest wildfire.
Jump to: Lee and Elk fires | Stoner Mesa fire | Crosho fire
Lee and Elk fires near Meeker
The lightning-sparked Lee and Elk fires started on opposite sides of Meeker in Rio Blanco County more than two weeks ago and together have consumed hundreds of square miles.
As of Monday morning, the was 61% contained.
It’s currently the fifth-largest wildfire on record in Colorado and approaching the fourth-place position, according to the state’s .
On its worst days the Lee fire spread at a pace of 4 miles per hour, said Nate Perrine, a fire behavior analyst assigned to the firefighting team.
That’s because the area is deep into a drought, leaving the ground dry where stands of sage and oak trees are vulnerable to burning. The area’s pinion juniper trees also help spread fire because their low-hanging branches make it easy for flames to climb into the canopy, Perrine said.
Temperatures have been in the 80s and 90s for days with little humidity and with winds averaging 20 mph during the first eight days, he said.
And the steep terrain makes it difficult for firefighters to build defense lines.
“With all these factors present, plus multiple days of relentless critical fire weather, fire behavior was as extreme as it could get around here,” Perrine said.
Saturday afternoon rain showers helped firefighters gain control of the and increase containment lines around the Lee fire.
Warmer and drier weather returned Sunday and is forecast throughout the week. Temperatures will peak in the 90s mid-week as relative humidities drop back into the single digits, meteorologist Julie Malingowski said during a .
There will be no precipitation or chance of thunderstorms from Monday through Wednesday, she said. Moisture will begin to return on Thursday, but rain showers aren’t expected until Saturday.
The Elk fire is fully contained, but wind could send embers over the fire line and create spot fires, fire officials said. The fire is still burning inside the containment lines.
The wildfire burn areas are closed to the public, and multiple zones on the Lee fire’s southern edge remain under mandatory evacuation orders. Previously evacuated areas surrounding both the Lee and Elk fires were moved back to pre-evacuation status, fire officials said.
.
The two wildfires have destroyed five homes and 14 outbuildings. Fire officials said the blazes were difficult to fight because of steep terrain, gusty winds, heat and extreme drought.
Derby fire in Eagle County
The Derby fire was discovered on Sunday morning about 15 miles from Dotsero in Eagle County and had burned 25 acres as of Monday night, according to a post on the White River National Forest Facebook page.
The fire was started by lightning and was growing on Monday evening as burning debris rolled down steep terrain. The fire is close to the Flat Tops Wilderness and no structures were in the path, the Facebook post said.
Stoner Mesa fire, near Dolores
A wildfire burning in the San Juan National Forest in western Colorado has consumed more than 8,000 acres with no containment.
The lightning-sparked is burning on 8,785 acres in Dolores County, according to a Monday night update. Flying embers also sparked multiple spot fires near the main burn area that firefighters are battling.
The nearby town of Rico remains on pre-evacuation status, and to the public because of the fire.
“As weather becomes hotter and drier today, fire activity is expected to start much earlier in the day and last longer,” fire officials said in a .
On Monday night Justin Conrad, the Stoner Mesa fire incident commander, said at a town hall meeting that fire officials have been reluctant to send firefighters too far into the blaze to fight it. Steep, remote terrain and the risk of dead and falling trees make the work hazardous, especially in the northeast corner of the wildfire. All of those factors have prevented firefighters from achieving any containment.
“We’ve got lots of people on the fire,” Conrad said. “A lof of people are looking for solutions.”
Firefighters are using different techniques such as taking advantage of natural features in the terrain and protecting specific points from the blaze, a Monday night Facebook update said.
Crosho fire near Yampa
More than 200 structures are threatened by a wildfire burning in western Colorado, but none have been destroyed, fire officials said.
The burning on the border of Rio Blanco and Routt counties west of Yampa is 8% contained, . The fire grew by roughly 30 acres on Sunday.
Cool temperatures, calm winds and light precipitation over the weekend helped moderate fire behavior, but a warmer and drier week ahead could fan the flames, fire officials said.
Mandatory evacuation orders remain in effect north of the blaze, and the Medicine Bow-Routt National Forests are closed around the fire, according to the U.S. Forest Service.
Multiple evacuation orders were canceled Sunday morning, moving areas south and east of the fire onto pre-evacuation status. Residents should be prepared to re-evacuate if fire activity escalates.
.
This is a developing story and may be updated.
