Colorado wildfires: Disaster declarations issued for Western Slope fires that scorched 21,000 acres

DENVER — Three wildfires that started over the weekend on Colorado’s Western Slope have consumed more than 21,000 acres and destroyed at least three buildings, according to fire officials.

All three lightning-sparked fires are burning near Meeker, a town in Rio Blanco County that sits about 70 miles northwest of Glenwood Springs and 40 miles north of Interstate 70.

Colorado Gov. Jared Polis has issued disaster declarations for two of the fires — the Leroux fire burning near Hotchkiss in Delta County and the Elk fire burning near Meeker in Rio Blanco County.

The Lee fire southwest of Meeker

Two wildfires burning 18 miles southwest of Meeker merged into one and have scorched more than 13,000 acres with no containment, fire officials said Tuesday.

Officials said the Grease and Lee fires grew rapidly Monday amid high heat, low humidity and gusty winds. Those conditions are forecast through Thursday, with multiple red flag warnings and fire weather watches active for the Western Slope.

Both fires were merged into one, the Lee fire, on Tuesday morning, according to the Rio Blanco County Sheriff’s Office.

At that time, the fire had consumed 13,025 acres, fire officials said.

The original Lee fire started at about 11 p.m. Saturday, and the Grease fire ignited at 1 p.m. Sunday, fire officials said.

“We understand there are growing concerns about fire activity in the area,” sheriff’s officials said Monday. “At this time, the Town of Meeker is NOT under any pre-evacuation or evacuation orders. … However, with active wildfires in the region and ongoing dry conditions, it’s always a good idea to be prepared.”

As of Monday evening, evacuation orders for the Lee fire included:

•County Road 22 off of County Road 5, including Little Hills;

•County Road 76 from County Road 3 to County Road 5;

•Colorado 64 from mile marker 58 to mile marker 72;

•The area south of Colorado 64, including County Road 127, County Road 129, County Road 66 and Brightwater Lane;

•And County Road 33.

Road closures in the area include County Road 8 from mile marker 11 to mile marker 19, County Road 3, County Road 22, County Road 26 and the intersection of County Road 127 and County Road 129.

The Elk fire east of Meeker

Another large wildfire is burning on a combination of private, state and Bureau of Land Management land about 11 miles east of Meeker, fire officials said Monday.

The Elk fire exploded overnight to 7,750 acres acres with no containment and has destroyed two homes and an outbuilding, according to a Tuesday morning update. The update accidentally switched the sizes of the Elk fire and Lee fire, which sheriff’s officials later corrected.

The Elk fire was first reported just after noon Saturday, sheriff’s officials said.

“Weather conditions and dry vegetation will once again challenge firefighters,” Rocky Mountain officials said Tuesday.

As of Monday evening, evacuation orders remained in place for:

•County Road 8 from mile marker 11 to mile marker 16,

•A stretch of land north of County Road 8 from Sleepy Cat Ranch to Lake Avery,

•County Road 40,

•County Road 63,

•And County Road 49.

Pre-evacuation orders were issued for County Road 8 from mile marker 16 to mile marker 27, County Road 14 and County Road 57, sheriff’s officials said.

Part of the White River National Forest was shut down Tuesday near the fire. Officials said the closure is in the Blanco Ranger District in and west of the Long-Lost Trail System. There is no estimated timeline for the forest to reopen.

The Rocky Mountain Complex Incident Management Team Three took control of both the Elk fire and the Lee fire at 6 a.m. Tuesday.

Nearly 300 fire personnel, including 30 engines and six hand crews, are battling the blazes, fire officials said.

The Leroux fire in Delta County

Colorado Gov. Jared Polis verbally declared a disaster emergency Monday night for the lightning-sparked Leroux fire burning in Delta County, according to a news release from his office.

“The fire has grown beyond local capability and capacity,” the release stated. “The order provides for additional, external resources and State support to more effectively manage and suppress the fire, and protect the values at risk.”

The fire is burning about 1.5 miles east of Redlands Mesa in Hotchkiss, which is about 20 miles east of Delta, according to a Tuesday update from fire officials.

While fire officials said the wildfire had consumed roughly 179 acres with no containment as of Tuesday morning, Polis’s office estimated the burn area was closer to 700 acres.

Smoke was reported near Oak Mesa outside of Hotchkiss at about 2:30 p.m. on Sunday, according to the fire’s incident management team. It took firefighters an hour to reach the flames.

Hot and dry weather on Monday, including humidity as low as 2%, fueled the flames, allowing them to jump dozer lines and burn through retardant lines, fire officials said.

Crews are working to construct fire lines around the burn area and protect homes. As of Monday evening, 74 homes had been evacuated, according to Delta County emergency alerts.