US EditionLee Fire Now Marks Fifth-Largest Wildfire in State History
NORTHWESTERN COLORADO, AUG 10 – The Lee fire, sparked by lightning, has reached 106,672 acres with 6% containment, ranking as the sixth largest wildfire in Colorado history, officials said.
- The Lee Fire near Meeker, Colorado, has burned over 106,000 acres and reached 6% containment as of August 10.
- The fire started on August 2 by lightning and expanded rapidly, prompting Governor Jared Polis to declare a state of emergency and authorize the National Guard.
- Officials upgraded evacuation zones Saturday afternoon, placing Zone 70 under mandatory evacuation and Zones 71, 80, and 81 under set status, while closing Highway 13 near Rifle.
- Over 1,000 personnel, including 14 aircraft and 23 hand crews, are fighting the fire under challenging near-critical weather conditions involving low humidity and gusty winds.
- Continued containment efforts focus on keeping the fire west of U.S. 13 and north of County Road 5, with ongoing evacuations and air quality warnings affecting multiple counties.
17 Articles
17 Articles
Lee fire becomes 6th largest wildfire in Colorado history
The Lee fire southwest of Meeker, Colorado in Rio Blanco County has become the sixth largest wildfire in Colorado history, eclipsing the 2012 High Park fire, which burned 87,284 acres west of Fort Collins.
Rio Blanco fires reach over 120,000 combined acres; Lee Fire 6% contained
The Elk and Lee fires in Rio Blanco County have reached over 120,000 combined acres as of Sunday morning, with winds from the northwest pushing the larger of the two fires to the south and east, according to the Aug. 10 update from the Rocky Mountain Incident Management Team Three. The Lee Fire, west of Meeker, swelled to 106,672 acres by Sunday, while the Elk Fire, east of Meeker, has burned 14,635 acres and stands at 9% containment, up from 8%…
Steamboat Pilot & Today
Sunday Update: Rio Blanco fires reach over 120,000 combined acres; Lee Fire 6% contained
The Elk and Lee fires in Rio Blanco County have reached over 120,000 combined acres as of Sunday morning, with winds from the northwest pushing the larger of the two fires to the south and east, according to the Aug. 10 update from the Rocky Mountain Incident Management Team Three. The Lee Fire, west of Meeker, swelled to 106,672 acres by Sunday, while the Elk Fire, east of Meeker, has burned 14,635 acres and stands at 9% containment, up from 8%…
Colorado wildfires: Lee Fire grows to more than 100K acres amid 'near-critical' weather
DENVER (KDVR) — One of the fires burning now more than 100,000 acres in Rio Blanco County in northwest Colorado continues to grow during ongoing "near-critical fire weather" conditions, though fire crews are slowly starting to contain the blaze. The Lee Fire, one of two fires in Rio Blanco County in addition to the much smaller Elk Fire, has burned 106,672 acres near the town of Meeker. The Elk Fire has held relatively steady at 14,635 acres, fi…
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