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By Mandy Taheri
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Sparked by lightning just over a week ago, the Lee fire has scorched more than 106,000 acres in Colorado, becoming one of the state's largest wildfires on record.
Why It Matters
The Lee and Elk fires, both ignited by lightning on August 2, are burning near Meeker, Colorado. Their quick spread led Colorado Governor Jared Polis to verbally declare a state of emergency earlier this week and call upon the National Guard for assistance.
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Sunday's weather forecast is expected to bolster the fire, with relatively low humidity, gusts, and lack of cloud coverage.
Large wildfires are also burning in California and Arizona, with the Gifford fire having burned over 114,600 acres and the Dragon Bravo fire in the Grand Canyon scorching around 143,500 acres.
What To Know
In a Sunday update, the Rocky Mountain Incident Management Team said the two fires have burned more than 121,307 acres, with the Elk fire charring 14,635 acres and the Lee fire scorching 106,672 acres.
More than 1,000 personnel are working to contain the blazes, using 14 aircraft, 23 hand crews, 51 engines and six pieces of heavy equipment. Crews were "successful at keeping fire on the west side of Highway 13," Jeramy Dietz, Rocky Mountain Team 3 operations section chief, said in a morning video update.
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The Elk fire is currently 9 percent contained, and the Lee fire is 6 percent. Dietz said on Sunday crews are "working to get tighter on the fire perimeter," as the fire is moving south.
"The southern end of the fire is well staffed and prepared for more extreme fire behavior moving south," the morning update said.
Two Colorado Army National Guard helicopters and aircrews are assisting in wildfire suppression efforts in Rio Blanco County, following Governor Polis' authorization.
In addition to some residential evacuations, which are updated on the Rio Blanco County and Garfield County sheriff's offices, the Lee fire led to the evacuation of nearly 200 inmates from the Rifle Correctional Center.
What People Are Saying
Casey Cheesbrough, incident commander, Rocky Mountain area complex incident management team 3, told Newsweek in an email statement on Sunday: "One of the biggest challenges on this fire has been the condition of fuels. They are drought-stressed to the point that they are basically dormant. Even live vegetation is exceedingly dry and susceptible to ignition. Due to these conditions, the fire is very reactive to changes in wind direction. The recent change from a predominant southwest wind to a northwest was good news for the town of Meeker and other areas along the northern edge of the fire. This gave firefighters an opportunity to strengthen containment lines and achieve that 6% containment. However, the change to a northwest wind has also been the main contributor to the rapid spread of the fire to the south."
Director of the Joint Staff U.S. Air Force Brig. Gen. Myk Bruno said in an August 8 statement: "The Colorado National Guard is Always Ready, Always There to assist the people of Colorado. We have specialized training and capabilities to assist the incident command team with this response."
Colorado Governor Jared Polis said in an August 7 X post: "As a state, our prayers are with Meeker and Rio Blanco County as wildfires continue to grow. I have authorized the national guard and sent emergency support for the Elk and Lee fires including everything from firefighters, engines, handcrews, aviation resources, incident management personnel, and support of Rio Blanco County and Town of Meeker personnel."
What Happens Next?
Containment efforts are ongoing as crews work to control the two fires, with an estimated containment date of August 30.
A public information officer for the Lee and Elk fires told Newsweek that there will be a community meeting about the fires on Monday, August 11 at 7pm local time. It will take place at the at the Colorado Mountain College campus in Rifle.
Update 8/10/25, 5:01 p.m. ET: This article has been updated with comment and information.
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