The Elk fire, which was started by lightning Aug. 2 east of Meeker, is fully contained after burning 14,518 acres in two weeks, officials said in an update late Saturday night.
The Elk fire, which started the same day as the Lee fire southwest of Meeker, destroyed three structures, including two homes, in the early days.
Meanwhile, containment on the Lee fire is up to 42% as of Sunday morning; it has consumed 137,453 acres.
“The increased acreage on the Lee Fire is a result of interior pockets that have burned out and more precise mapping,” officials said in a Facebook post late Saturday night.
“Really good day containment-wise Saturday,” Jeramy Dietz , operations section chief with the Rocky Mountain Complex Incident Management Team Three, said during a Sunday morning briefing.
The Lee fire is the fifth-largest wildfire in state history but closing in on the Hayman fire, which burned 137,760 acres in 2002. The three largest wildfires in Colorado history are the Cameron Peak (208,913 acres), East Troublesome (193,812) and Pine Gulch (139,007) fires, which all burned in 2020.
As of Saturday, more than 1,200 firefighters were still working the fires near Meeker.
On Sunday, crews will continue to mop up and secure firelines to increase containment on the southwestern side of the fire, officials said Sunday morning.
About a quarter- to half-inch of rain fell on the southern portion of the Lee fire Saturday, causing flash flood warnings over the burn-scar area, but no damage was reported.
Forecasters are predicting a return to hot, dry weather to start the week. Fire officials said they are hoping for “a potential return of the monsoonal conditions later in the week,” according to the Saturday evening update.
On Saturday, the Rio Blanco Sheriff’s Office reopened Colorado 13, a major mode of transportation between Rifle and Meeker.
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