A 2,000-acre wildfire burning on Colorado’s Western Slope had destroyed three buildings as of Sunday night, fire officials said.
The lightning-sparked Elk fire started southeast of Meeker in Rio Blanco County just after noon Saturday and grew to roughly 600 acres by Sunday afternoon .
The fire more than doubled in size throughout the evening, jumping a county road and consuming 2,000 acres, according to an 11 p.m. update from the Rio Blanco County Sheriff’s Office.
Sheriff’s officials said two houses and one outbuilding were lost in the fire.
The fire also jumped parts of White River, and sheriff’s officials said those areas were firefighters’ top priority Sunday night.
Colorado Gov. Jared Polis verbally issued a disaster declaration for the wildfire on Sunday, allowing the state