Northern Rockies Complex Incident Management Team 1

Incident Commander Brent Olson

Location:  11 miles south of Meeker, Colorado
Start Date: 08/02/2025
Cause: Lightning
Size: Lee Fire: 137,758 acres | Elk Fire: 14,518 acres
Containment: Lee Fire: 80% |  Elk Fire: 100%
355 Total Personnel;   5 Helicopters;   15 Engines;   3 Hand Crews;   7 Water Tenders;   2 Dozers

KEY Message

Rio Blanco County has OPENED the Piceance Creek Road (CR 5). Crews are still working in this area so please use caution, reduce driving speed, and give them space to work.  

Current Status

Lee Fire – Afternoon storms yesterday produced nearly 0.20 inch of rain in Meeker, but no measurable amount over the fire area. Suppression efforts were successful in the northwestern corner of the fire area on a hot spot that was detected. Consequently, firefighters increased foot patrols and perimeter checks, extinguishing hot spots and strengthening lines were needed. Today crews will begin chipping and debris removal operations left over from previous fuels reduction work. With the potential for more thunderstorms with frequent lightning and gusty outflow winds, initial attack resources have been identified and are ready in the event of new starts.

Elk Fire – Resources have completed much of the planned suppression repair efforts and hope to complete this work by end of shift.

Weather and Fire Behavior

Scattered showers and thunderstorms are expected again today with gusty winds and frequent lightning being the main concerns. Sunday onward, widespread showers and thunderstorms are expected daily with moderate to heavy rainfall being the main concerns. This will lead to an elevated level of concern for burn scar debris flows and flash flooding into early next week.

Closures and Special Messages

For accurate up-to-date information on evacuations and road closures for Rio Blanco County go to the Rio Blanco County Sheriff’s Office Facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/RioBlancoCountySheriffsOffice. For Garfield County updates go to: https://www.garfieldcounty.net/. USFS White River National Forest and BLM closure rescission information is available at: https://inciweb.wildfire.gov/incident-closures/cowrd-lee-fire