Elk fire fully contained, Lee fire continues to burn near Meeker

While afternoon thunderstorms on Saturday helped firefighters contain one blaze burning on the Western Slope, another nearby fire is close to becoming the fourth-largest on record in Colorado.

As of Saturday night, the Lee fire was burning on 137,453 acres between Meeker and Rifle in Rio Blanco County.

The wildfire is 307 acres smaller than Colorado’s fourth-largest fire on record, the 137,760-acre Hayman fire that sparked in 2002. It’s also just over 1,500 acres smaller than the 139,007-acre Pine Gulch fire from 2020, Colorado’s third-largest wildfire.

A second wildfire burning to the east, the 14,518-acre Elk fire, was fully contained Saturday, fire officials said.

Jump to : Lee and Elk fires | Stoner Mesa fire | Crosho fire

Lee and Elk fires near Meeker

The lightning-sparked