Two major wildfires are burning in Rio Blanco County. The Lee Fire, which grew over the weekend to more than 113,000 acres, now stands as the 5th largest wildfire in Colorado state history. It’s only 7 percent contained. The nearby Elk Fire is just over 14,000 acres and just 30 percent contained.

The Lee Fire near Meeker is now over 116,000 acres, fire maps show, and has surpassed the Spring Creek Fire of 2018 as the state's fifth-largest wildfire.Over 1,000 firefighters and a dozen aircraft are involved in efforts to contain and extinguish the fire,

The Colorado Department of Corrections (CDOC) has announced that they are evacuating all 179 inmates from the Rifle Correctional Center as a direct result of the Lee Fire in Rio Blanco County.