Crews reopen Highway 13 as Lee fire containment grows to 31%

Emergency crews reopened Colorado Highway 13 south of Meeker Saturday morning after they established containment of nearly one third of the Lee fire.

Started over two weeks ago, the Lee fire ballooned from a 700-acre fire to one that's nearing 134,000 in Rio Blanco County, according to a Saturday morning post on the Elk and Lee Fire Information Facebook page. The fire's current 31% containment is easily the highest amount crews have reached, a sign that officials' confidence about the state of their response earlier in the week was not misplaced.

Now the fifth-largest wildfire in state history, the Lee fire prompted crews to close Colorado Highway 13 between the Western Slope towns of Meeker and Rifle until Saturday morning as they worked to solidify the corridor. At one point, the