The fifth largest wildfire in Colorado history is likely to see hot and dry conditions ahead, complicating efforts at containing the Lee Fire, burning between Meeker and Rifle.
Hundreds of people gathered in an auditorium at the Colorado Mountain College Monday night in Rifle for an update on the blaze.
Krys and Tushina Cox evacuated to Rifle a week ago from their ranch that sits along Highway 13. They said that part of their property is completely gone. Their livestock ran off when they tried to load them into the trailer.
“We're just hoping that all of our cattle got out and didn't end up perishing in this,” Krys Cox said. “Might take us almost all a year to get them.”
The Lee Fire grew by several thousand acres Monday to 116,859 acres and is 6 percent contained. The containment percentage dropped slightly due to the increase in acreage.
An end of day update from incident command said that “firefighters are facing very active fire behavior, including fast-moving flames pushed by the wind.” Officials said the crew, more than 1,000 firefighters, is focused on protecting homes and critical infrastructure, including oil and gas wells in western Rio Blanco County.
The nearby Elk Fire is 14,549 acres and 30 percent contained.
Officials from Rocky Mountain Area Incident Management Team, U.S. Rep. Jeff Hurd and others offered fire updates to local residents at Monday’s meeting. Many of the concerns were related to cattle and horses, as Rio Blanco is a large ranching county.
Officials looked hopefully towards weather later in the week, when there’s a slight chance of rain heading into the weekend.
Bethan Urban, spokesperson for the Rocky Mountain Area Incident Management Team, said conditions had been extra challenging. “With more dangerous fire weather coming in, we do expect to continue to see extreme fire behavior on this fire,” Urban said.
Air quality alerts and red flag warnings are in place for much of the Western Slope.
Krys Cox’s family has lived in the area for five generations, meaning their property — located well within the evacuation zone — contains generations of structures.
“Our house, my mom's house, my brother's house — there's at least four. We're not talking about corrals or garages,” Cox said.
For now, Krys and Tushina Cox are camping in a tent on a friend’s property in a tent with their cats and dogs.
Property owners along Highway 13 are among the priorities for fire fighters working the blaze, Urban said.
“This one has really challenged us at every turn,” Urban said. “We've got fuels that are exceedingly dry, and a persistent drought. The fuels that are alive out here currently are burning as if they're dead fuels.”
She did not offer an estimate on how many had evacuated.
There are evacuation centers set up at Fairfield Center in Meeker, and livestock evacuation locations in Rio Blanco County Fairgrounds and Parachute Rodeo Grounds.
CPR's Tegan Wendland contributed to this report.
