RIO BLANCO COUNTY, Colo. — The Lee Fire burning in Rio Blanco County became the fourth-largest blaze in Colorado history Monday, a little more than three weeks after igniting southwest of Meeker.
As of Monday, the fire has burned 138,844 acres and is 90% contained.
Previously known as the Lee and Grease Fire, the blaze has surpassed the 416 Fire (2018), the West Fork Fire (2013), the Missionary Ridge Fire (2002), and the High Park Fire (2012) in size after scorching more than 100,000 acres of land in just eight days, according to fire officials.
Severe drought conditions combined with several days of red flag warnings along Colorado’s Western Slope, some of which persist for a swath of western Colorado, contributed to its rapid spread, fire officials added.
Discovered on Aug. 2 following a lightning strike in the Piceance Creek area on Bureau of Land Management (BLM) land, the Lee Fire's growth briefly threatened the Town of Meeker, which was placed on a pre-evacuation notice just four days later.
Evacuation orders were also issued northwest of Rifle after the fire moved south, close to the Garfield County line.
Around-the-clock firefighting efforts were able to contain the blaze from jumping Highway 13, and the pre-evacuation notices for Meeker were rescinded on Aug. 8.
The fire was so large that it also ended up creating its own weather system.
- Meteorologist Stacy Donaldson explains how that weather system, aided by erratic fire behavior, is created in the video below:
By Aug. 10, the Lee Fire was inching closer in size to the 108,045-acre Spring Creek Fire from 2018 before it surpassed it less than three days later, after growing to over 123,000 acres in size.
On Aug. 18, the Lee Fire had grown to over 137,000 acres despite firefighters making good progress in containment.
While it has now surpassed the 137,706-acre Hayman Fire from 2002, it's not yet clear whether it'll surpass the 139,007-acre Pine Gulch Fire from 2020 to take the spot as the third-largest wildfire in state history.
- Want to know which fires take the top three spots? We revisited the top 10 biggest wildfires to impact Colorado in the story below:
Wildfire
Looking back at Colorado's top 10 wildfires as the Lee Fire climbs up the list
The Lee Fire has so far burned at least three homes and 12 outbuildings.
