The Lee fire, burning in Rio Blanco County near Meeker in northwest Colorado, has eclipsed the 2018 Spring Creek blaze as the fifth-largest wildfire in state history, according to multiple reports.
Ignited by a lightning strike Aug. 2, the Lee fire is currently at 7% containment, incident officials said. It is the state’s largest wildfire since 2020, when the Cameron Peak, East Troublesome and Pine Gulch blazes scorched a combined 541,732 acres.
The Lee fire is southwest of Meeker, while the smaller Elk fire continues to burn east of Meeker.
The Cameron Peak fire burned for 112 days, officials said. The fire ignited on Aug. 13, 2020, in the Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forest near Cameron Pass and Chambers Lake.
The Larimer County Damage Assessment Teams found 469 structures were i