Since the first weekend of August, Moffat and Rio Blanco counties have seen at least five wildland fires, including the Lee, Elk, Twelve, Thirteen and Jack Springs fires.

With extreme fire weather activity in much of western Colorado for the past two weeks, officials urge communities to remain vigilant and cautious.

The Bureau of Land Management and U.S. Forest Service issued Stage 2 fire restrictions for Routt, Moffat and Rio Blanco counties. The fire restrictions ban all campfires and the use of charcoal grills, as well as smoking outdoors. To view restriction details, visit TinyUrl.com/knd9h243.

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The Lee and Elk fires

The Lee Fire, west of Meeker in Rio Blanco County, started around Aug. 2 due to lightning. It quickly combined with the Grease Fire, north of the initial Lee Fire.

On Monday, Aug. 4, the Lee Fire reached about 400 acres. After combining with the Grease Fire, the Lee Fire reached 13,025 acres by the morning of Tuesday, Aug. 5.

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The Elk Fire, east of Meeker, also started Aug. 2 due to lightning. The fire quickly grew to about 2,000 acres by Monday, Aug. 4.

By Tuesday, Aug. 5, the Elk Fire had spread to about 7,750 acres, according to an Aug. 5 morning statement.

At around 2 p.m. Aug. 5, Colorado Highway 13 was closed from the intersection of Colorado Highway 64 to the intersection of Rio Blanco County Road 5. Nearly 300 firefighting personnel responded to the fires by Aug. 5.

Several zones were issued evacuation orders Aug. 5, particularly in rural areas surrounding the Lee Fire. Evacuation shelters were established in Meeker for both residents and livestock.

In addition to the road closures and evacuations, Oak Ridge State Wildlife Area, Rio Blanco Lake State Wildlife Area, Colorow Mountain State Wildlife Area and Piceance State Wildlife Area are closed until further notice, according to an Aug. 5 Colorado Parks and Wildlife news release.

Gates at the properties will remain open to aid firefighting efforts. CPW asks the public to respect the closures in place despite the open gates.

The White River National Forest also issued a public forest closure for firefighter and public safety in the area of the Elk fire in Rio Blanco County, according to an Aug. 5 U.S. Forest Service news release.

On Thursday, both fires remained zero percent contained and reached over 70,000 acres combined. By Thursday evening, the Lee Fire reached roughly 58,700 acres, and the Elk Fire reached 14,200 acres.

Thursday afternoon, Meeker and the area south of town were in “Set” pre-evacuation status, indicating a high probability of an imminent evacuation order. Zone 40, just west of Meeker, was issued a full “Go” evacuation order the previous day.

The Lee Fire crossed Colorado Highway 13 at approximately 3:30 p.m. Aug. 6, officials said. A large smoke cloud called a “pyrocumulus column” collapsed, causing the fire to spread over 100 acres before aviation resources could get to it.

By Friday, the Lee Fire spread to over 60,000 acres as of Friday morning — about 15,000 acres more than Thursday morning. The Elk Fire spread only about 100 acres between Thursday and Friday mornings, totaling over 14,300 acres. Both fires remained zero percent contained.

At 12:23 p.m. on Friday, the town of Meeker’s evacuation order was downgraded to “Ready” orders. Zone 2 was also downgraded to “Ready” orders.

Friday morning, 11 aircraft, 46 engines, 21 hand crews and 11 pieces of heavy equipment were on the scene of the two fires. The National Guard also mobilized two Chinook helicopters to assist in fire suppression on Friday.

The Elk and Lee fires surpassed 103,000 combined acres as of Saturday morning, prompting additional evacuation orders on Saturday morning. Firefighting crews reported 8% containment for the Elk Fire, but the Lee Fire remained zero percent contained.

The Lee Fire spread south through the weekend, moving towards Rifle in Garfield County. As the fire spread, a the southern portion of Colo. 13 was closed between Meeker and Rifle.

At approximately 3 p.m. Saturday, officials upgraded Zone 70 to the “Go” order, urging residents in the area to evacuate immediately. Zone 70 was the first zone in Garfield County to reach “Go” status.

By Sunday morning, crews reported 6% containment on the 106,672-acre Lee Fire and 9% containment on the Elk Fire. Over 1000 personnel are battling the two fires, supported by 14 aircraft, 23 hand crews, 51 engines and six pieces of heavy equipment.

The Twelve Fire

The Twelve Fire in western Moffat County started Wednesday, Aug. 6 and spread to over 4,000 acres by Thursday afternoon.

Around 4:30 p.m. Aug. 6, U.S. Highway 40 was closed in both directions between mile markers 60 and 11 due to the fire.

At midnight Thursday, U.S. 40 was reopened in both directions. Speed reductions were established due to the ongoing fire. Officials urge drivers to use caution.

As of Monday morning, the Twelve Fire spread to about 4,287 acres and was 80% contained.

The Thirteen Fire

The Thirteen Fire in the city of Craig, which prompted evacuation notices Sunday afternoon, was upgraded to a wildland fire Sunday evening.

Officials named the blaze the 1104 Fire at the briefing, but could not say how many acres it had affected or to what extent, if any, it was contained. The fire was later renamed the Thirteen Fire.

The initial call came in to local authorities at around 1:30 p.m. Sunday at the 700 block of East 13th Street in Craig as a potential structure fire, said Moffat County Sheriff’s Office Sergeant Nicholas Cordova during the Sunday press briefing. 

The fire “quickly spread to a wildfire shortly thereafter,” said Cordova, at which point additional resources joined from the Moffat County Sheriff’s Office Wildland Fire Team and the Bureau of Land Management Wildland Fire. The fire was upgraded to a wildland fire once it began to spread to “grassy areas.”

An initial mandatory evacuation notice was issued for the area stretching from 13^th to 9^th streets between Bryan Way and Washington Street in Craig just after 2 p.m. on Sunday.

At around 4 p.m. Sunday, the sheriff’s office announced that all areas under mandatory evacuation were moved into a pre-evacuation notice.

A pre-evacuation notice for the area to the north of East 9th street from Bryan Way to Haughey Road was also issued just before 3 p.m.

During the press briefing Sunday evening, Commander Doug Conrad with the Craig Police Department confirmed that residents previously under mandatory evacuation could return to their homes. The department advises nearby residents to avoid turning on their air conditioning units, as smoke in the area could be pulled into their homes.

The Jack Springs Fire

The Jack Springs Fire in western Moffat County started Aug. 2 and grew to about 105 acres by Aug. 4. Wildland crews were able to get the fire about 80% contained by Aug. 4, preventing further spread.

Editor’s note: Due to rapidly changing fire conditions, we encourage our readers to follow the Craig Press Facebook page as well as the homepage in order to get the most recent fire information available.