The Lee fire in Rio Blanco County has become the fifth largest wildfire in Colorado history a day after surpassing the sixth largest.

The Lee fire — raging southwest of Meeker, Colorado — grew to 113,378 acres by Monday morning, according to a social media post by the Rio Blanco County Sheriff’s Office. The fire is now the fifth largest in state history, rising above the Spring Creek fire that burned 108,045 acres in 2018.

On Sunday morning, the fire was at 106,672 acres, surpassing the 2012 High Park fire that burned 87,284 acres, according to the Colorado Division of Fire Prevention and Control.

The fire is currently at 7% containment, according to the sheriff’s office, with 12 aircraft, 24 hand crews, 60 engines and 10 heavy equipment vehicles fighting the flames.

Firefighters on the north side of the fire continue to strengthen fire lines near the Highway 64 corridor, according to a news release from the Rocky Mountain Area Complex Incident Management Team. 

The south side of the fire has been more challenging for fighting teams, though, with high wind gusts in the area. Crews worked to keep the fire west of Highway 13 Monday morning, despite it slightly hopping over the highway Sunday. 

The cause of the fire is still thought to be from lightning. 

Mandatory evacuation orders were issued for Zones 20, 22, 25, 50, 51, 62, 63, 64 and 65, which are primarily south and west of Meeker, on Sunday.

Zone 51 was downgraded to yellow status around 10 a.m. Monday morning, meaning people are not required to evacuate but could be at a moment’s notice.

Zones 40 and 55 have been downgraded to green status, meaning danger is less but residents should still be prepared to evacuate at any time.

“Near-critical fire weather will return today,” the Rocky Mountain Incident Management Team said in the Monday update. “This will include low relative humidity, periods of gusty winds from the north/northwest and lack of cloud coverage. The very dry fuels with the expected weather could result in extreme fire behavior in some areas of the Lee Fire.” 

Along with the residential evacuations, the Colorado Department of Corrections (CDOC) evacuated the Rifle Correctional Center on Saturday evening, moving 179 inmates to the Buena Vista Correctional Complex.

Families and loved ones can communicate with individuals in custody through Securus tablets or the telephone system, according to a press release from the CDOC.

Elk fire containment increases

The Elk fire east of Meeker has burned 14,635 acres, not growing since Sunday morning. It is currently at 30% containment, up significantly from its 9% containment on Sunday, according to state officials.

Firefighters are continuing to increase fire containment on the south side of the fire on County Road 8 and on the east side in the Beaver Creek drainage. The fire is expected to actively burn within the interior of the area, with fire crews strengthening fire lines to stop spreading.

Historical fires

While the Lee fire has quickly planted itself as the fifth largest in state history, it has over 20,000 acres to go before surpassing the fourth largest — the 2002 Hayman that burned 137,760 acres.

The next biggest fires were the 2020 Pine Gulch fire at 139,007 acres, the 2020 East Troublesome fire at 193,812 acres and the 2020 Cameron Peak fire at 208,913 acres — the largest in state history.

Other notable Colorado wildfire facts:

• 20 of 20 largest wildfires have occurred in the last 20 years (since 2001).
• 16 of the top 20 largest wildfires have occurred in the last 13 years (since 2008).
• 15 of top 20 largest wildfires have occurred in the last 9 years (since 2012).
• 11 of top 20 largest wildfires have occurred in the last 5 years (since 2016).
• 9 of top 20 largest wildfires have occurred in the last 3 years (2018 and 2020).
• 4 of top 5 largest wildfires have occurred in the last 3 years (2018 and 2020).

For information about evacuation notices, visit facebook.com/rioblancocountysheriffsoffice or the National Interagency Fire Center’s website.