Fire crews are working on securing houses and other infrastructure in northwestern Colorado as the Lee fire continues to grow in Rio Blanco County. And with continued hot and dry weather, officials are looking ahead with concern for weather conditions this week, especially Wednesday.
The Lee fire increased by more than 3,500 acres Monday and as of Monday evening had burned 116,859 acres southwest of Meeker. The increase in the size meant containment dropped to 6%, down one percentage point from Monday morning. By Tuesday night, the fire burn scar was up to 120,650 acres, and the containment had dropped again, this time to 4%.
Operations section chief Fred Tucker with the Rocky Mountain Incident Command team said Monday night at a community meeting in Rifle the fire perimeter is 170 miles. “That’s a significant footprint,” he said.
Crews focused Monday on protecting homes and infrastructure and finding containment lines. The main objective remains to keep the fire from jumping across Colorado 13 after it made a roughly 8-mile run down the highway a few days ago, Tucker said.
He said firefighters are facing very active fire behavior, especially on the southwestern and southern edge, and where it is making “finger-like runs.” Hotshot crews are working to protect homes, oil and gas operations and high-tension power lines.
There are approximately 850 wells via two operators in the area impacted by the Lee fire, according to the Colorado Energy and Carbon Management Commission. Those wells have been turned off using remote technology.
“ECMC staff is in daily contact with the fire Incident Command Center as well as the operators of those wells. Once the ICC and first responders determine that the area is cleared for personnel to reenter safely, ECMC will implement inspection procedures to ensure the safe return of operations of those wells,” the state agency said in an email.
Tucker said the Elk fire burning to the east of Meeker has slowed as crews have gained 30% containment. It had burned 15,549 acres, a slight decrease in size after officials said more accurate mapping was done Monday.
During the community meeting in Rifle, Rocky Mountain Incident Command team meteorologist Rose Schoenfeld said in the past 30 days the region has received less than 5% of normal precipitation, which set up extreme drought conditions for lightning-caused fires.
Rain is not in the forecast until the weekend at the earliest, she said, and Wednesday looks to be a day of concern with shifting winds, warmer temperatures and an unstable atmosphere that could lead to a larger smoke plume from the Lee fire to get taller and larger.
The Lee fire is 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.
Reporter Mark Jaffe contributed to this report.
This is a developing story that will be updated.