MEEKER | According to an update from the Rocky Mountain Area Complex Incident Management Team 3 on Tuesday morning, the Elk Fire has burned 7,750 acres and the Lee Fire has burned 13,025 acres. Team 3 assumed command of the Elk and Lee fires this morning at 6 a.m. (Note: corrected acreage update sent from Team 3 at noon Tuesday.)
Rio Blanco County PIO Lynn Lockwood noted that “all of the acres inside a fire perimeter may not have burned” and suggested watching fire movement and the weather forecast. Fire apps do not provide context for what is occurring on the ground.
There are 297 personnel working the fires with 30 engines, six hand crews, one dozer and Rio Blanco County graders and dozers.
Both fires were extremely active Monday due to hot, dry, windy conditions, making large runs, spreading to the north, east, and south throughout the day. Structure protection was put in place along the Hwy. 64 corridor in the Lee Fire area and the Big Beaver drainage on the north side of the Elk Fire. Conditions Tuesday are expected to continue to be challenging with high temperatures, low humidities, and southwest winds.
There were initially two fires in the Piceance region, the Grease Fire and the Lee Fire. The two fires are now merged into the Lee Fire and will be referred to as such.
Additional resources are being mobilized to assess both fires, and assess and initiate structure protection plans in the Hwy. 64 corridor and Big Beaver drainage.
Team 3 will work with the RBC Sheriff’s Office to provide real-time information on both fires as they evaluate current evacuation status and planning for future evacuations as deemed necessary.
Evacuations and Closures: Go to the Rio Branco County Sheriff’s Office Facebook page –
https://www.facebook.com/RioBlancoCountySheriffsOffice – for accurate up-to-date information on all evacuations and road closures.
To sign up for emergency alerts go to: https://rioblancoalerts.genasys.com/portal/en
Air Quality: Current air quality for your area can be found at fire.airnow.gov.