Extreme fire behavior continues as blazes near Colorado town reach 30,000-plus acres
An image of the Lee Fire from State Highway 13. Photo: Rio Blanco County Sheriff's Office.
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While multiple wildfires are burning around Colorado, two in state’s northwest region are particularly notable. Burning on each side of the town of Meeker, Elk Fire and Lee Fire continue to burn with a high level of activity, resulting in major impacts in the local area.
According to the Wednesday morning update, Lee Fire – to the west of Meeker – has grown to 22,497 acres, up from 13,025 acres that was reported on Tuesday morning. Meanwhile, Elk Fire – burning to the east of Meeker and near the town of Buford – has reached 8,304 acres, up from the 7,750 acres that was reported on Tuesday morning.
Both fires remain fully uncontained at last report.
Image: NASA/USFS.
Image: NASA/USFS.
Per the Wednesday morning report, Lee Fire was “extremely active” on Tuesday, pushing to the east, which is in the direction of Meeker, as well as to the south. A key effort related to the Lee Fire firefighting effort currently involves protecting structures at risk. The Elk Fire was less active, which allowed firefighters to make progress along the blaze’s southern edge.
Dangerous fire weather is expected to continue in this part of the state on Wednesday, with strong winds, very low relative humidities, and hot temperatures likely. Extreme fire behavior is expected to persist as a result.
Colorado Parks and Wildlife has closed public access to four state wildlife areas in the area of these fires, including Oak Ridge SWA, Rio Blanco Lake SWA, Colorow Mountain SWA, and Piceance SWA.
Various road closures and evacuations are underway in the area of these blazes, with the most up-to-date information related to those alerts being posted on the Rio Blanco County Sheriff’s Office Facebook page.
Those in the area have been instructed to sign up for the Rio Blanco County alerts system, which can be done here.
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