RIO BLANCO COUNTY, Colo. — The more than 1,000 firefighters battling the Lee Fire in Rio Blanco County are up against some extraordinary conditions, according to fire officials.

Lightning sparked the fire on the afternoon of Aug. 3. Since then, it has grown to 120,650 acres — the fifth-largest wildfire in Colorado history — and is 4% contained as of Tuesday evening.

That region of the state is experiencing extreme drought conditions, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor . Rio Blanco County is in "extreme drought" (D3), the third of four drought conditions, with the most intense being "exceptional drought" (D4).

"This particular fire has proven so challenging because of the incredibly drought-stressed fuels that we're dealing with," Urban explained. "We're dealing with lots of live

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