Some residents in northwest Colorado have decided to voluntarily evacuate as two wildfires threaten the small town of Meeker.

The town is home to roughly 2,300 residents and is surrounded by public lands.

On August 2, lightning started two fires: the Lee Fire and the Grease Fire. The two fires eventually merged, and the blaze is now known as the Lee Fire.

It has burned about 45,000 acres and is 0% contained.

Burning roughly 15 miles away is the Elk Fire, which has scorched roughly 14,250 acres. The fire was also sparked by lightning on August 2.

Mandi Etheridge, Meeker town administrator, told the Scripps News Group that the fires have already destroyed property.

“A lot of it is Bureau of Land Management and US Forest Service property, but there is some private property interspersed

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