Fire crews battling two large blazes in northwestern Colorado continue to gain containment on the smaller Elk fire burning east of Meeker, but the Lee fire blew up over the weekend, doubling to more than 113,000 acres.
Both fires were started by lightning Aug. 2. On Saturday firefighters started to make progress containing them.
Work on the Elk fire has reached 30% containment as the fire remained at 14,635 acres, officials reported Monday morning.
But strong winds continue to push the Lee fire, which started about 11 miles southwest of Meeker, to the south and it has scorched 113,378 acres, officials said Monday. It is considered 7% contained. On Thursday, the fire was at 60,000 acres.
Firefighters are trying to keep the Lee fire from jumping Colorado 13 to the east and Rio Blanco County Road 5 to the south.
The containment line for the Lee fire is on the northeastern corner of the fire, closest to Meeker, operations section chief Jeramy Dietz said in a video update Monday morning. Crews are protecting Colorado 13 and the fire remains on the west side of the highway south of Meeker, Dietz said.
The biggest activity remains on the southern edge as it gets closer to County Road 5 where it intersects with Colorado 13.
The Lee fire is burning not far from the Piceance-East Douglas Herd Management Area, one of four ranges in the state designated for wild horses. While the fire is not on the horse range, as firefighters have kept the blaze on the east side of Rio Blanco County Road 5, the conditions are causing concern for the 700 or so mustangs who live in the basin.
“Obviously the horses are impacted by the smoke, and the heat and lack of moisture is not aiding in the forage situation,” said Cindy Day, a volunteer with the Piceance Mustangs who darts mares with a fertility vaccine.
The sagebrush and pinon pine hills where the horses roam was already dry. The Bureau of Land Management says the area is suited for no more than 235 horses. The land is also used by cattle, oil and gas operations, and many wild animals including deer, elk and birds.
About 450 wild horses that had lived next to the East Douglas rangeland in an area called West Douglas were removed in an emergency roundup in 2021 due to a wildfire. About one-third of those horses ended up dying in an equine flu outbreak while they were corraled in Cañon City holding pens, leading investigators to speculate that the mustangs had lung damage from the wildfire.
There are no more wild horses in West Douglas after the BLM removed the remaining animals in 2023, saying the land was unsuitable due to a lack of food and water.
After cooler temperatures over the weekend, officials forecast the temperatures will creep up this week with modest winds out of the northeast and low humidity.
The region where the Lee fire is burning in Rio Blanco County has been experiencing extreme drought conditions for weeks.
The Lee fire is now the fifth largest wildfire in state history behind the Cameron Peak (208,913 acres), East Troublesome (193,812) and Pine Gulch (139,007) fires all in 2020 and the Hayman fire (137,760) in 2002.
A community meeting hosted by fire officials is scheduled for 7 p.m. Monday at the Colorado Mountain College campus in Rifle.
Gov. Jared Polis signed an executive order Friday, memorializing a previous emergency declaration he made in July for dangerous fire conditions on the Western Slope.
Other fires around the state are pulling in hundreds of firefighters, and Polis on Monday declared a disaster emergency in southern Colorado as crews battle the Oak fire burning west of Pagosa Springs.
The fire, which started Sunday as a structure fire, forced emergency evacuations in the area Sunday.
As of Monday morning, one small barn, one pump house, one pergola, one carport and a camper trailer have been identified as having significant fire damage, according to the Archuleta County Sheriff’s Office.
The Stoner Mesa fire, which was started by lightning July 28 west of Rico in southwestern Colorado, has burned 3,579 acres in Dolores County and with no containment.
Staff reporter Jennifer Brown contributed to this report.
This is a developing story that will be updated.