Colorado wildfires: Colorado 13 reopens near Meeker after Lee fire closure

Scattered rain and slightly cooler temperatures limited the spread of wildfires burning across Colorado’s Western Slope on Saturday, allowing firefighters to increase containment and lifting some evacuation orders.

Containment on the 133,954-acre Lee fire burning between Meeker and Rifle in Rio Blanco County grew to 31% as crews marked a “very successful” day of keeping the flames in check, operations section chief Jeramy Dietz said in a morning briefing.

County officials reopened Colorado 13 for the first time since Aug. 2 and lifted some mandatory evacuations along the highway on Saturday, although some areas west of the highway and near the Garfield County line remain under evacuation.

Farther north, folks living on the edge of Routt and Rio Blanco counties also remain under evacuation for the Crosho fire, which started burning in the the Medicine Bow-Routt National Forests on Monday.

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

Lee and Elk fires near Meeker

Growth on one of Colorado’s largest-ever wildfires has slowed to a crawl in recent days as firefighters hold containment lines and rain and slightly cooler temperatures help limit the spread.

The Lee fire burning south of Meeker in Rio Blanco County has charred 133,954 acres, only a 300-acre jump since Thursday, and is now 31% contained, fire officials said Saturday. Most of the containment is along the eastern and northern edges of the fire, near Meeker and Colorado 13.

County officials reopened Colorado 13 on Saturday for the first time since Aug. 2 and lifted some mandatory evacuations. Some areas west of the highway are still under evacuation orders, as is a swath of land along the fire’s southern edge into Garfield County.

Updated evacuation and pre-evacuation orders for Rio Blanco and Garfield counties are available online.

Eleven miles to the east, containment on the Elk fire increased to 93%, and no growth was reported on the 14,518-acre fire.

Both wildfires were sparked by lightning on Aug. 2 and have challenged firefighters battling steep terrain, gusty winds, heat and extreme drought. Five homes and 14 outbuildings were destroyed by the fires.

But slightly cooler and more humid weather on Friday and Saturday brought relief to fire crews, including heavy rain over the still-active south edge of the fire on Saturday afternoon.

“The increase in moisture and humidity will help firefighters as they continue to suppress the fire,” officials wrote in a Saturday morning update.

Conditions will dry out Sunday and early in the week, although there’s a chance monsoonal conditions — which have been largely missing from the Western Slope this summer — may return late next week.

Stoner Mesa fire, near Dolores

Rain on the Western Slope reached south to Dolores County and helped conditions on the Stoner Mesa fire on Friday and Saturday, although the weather prevented fire officials from flying over the blaze to get an updated size.

The fire was last reported at 7,390 acres with no containment and is burning in a remote section of the San Juan National Forest about 20 miles northeast of Dolores.

Firefighters are taking advantage of the cooler weather to build containment lines, although some sections to the east are impossible to access because of the steep terrain.

The nearby town of Rico remains on pre-evacuation status, and parts of the national forest are closed to the public because of the fire.

Crosho fire near Yampa

Cooler, more humid weather also helped crews fighting the Crosho fire in Rio Blanco and Routt counties west of Yampa, officials said Saturday.

No growth was reported overnight on the 2,200-acre that sparked by Crosho Lake in the Medicine Bow-Routt National Forests on Monday, and crews have not yet gained any containment on the fire.

There are 240 structures currently threatened by the fire, but no damage has been reported, fire officials said. The cause of the fire is unknown.

Mandatory evacuations remain in effect for areas east of Crosho Lake to Routt County Road 17. The evacuation zones include Heart Mountain and stretches of County roads 13, 15, 132 and 19.

The U.S. Forest Service closed parts of the national forest because of the wildfire, including Rio Blanco County Road 8 to the north, Forest Road 940.1A to the east, Mill Creek to the south and the forest boundary in Routt County to the west.