Rocky Mountain Area Complex Incident Management Team 3
Fire update document | Fire map document
Size: Elk Fire: 14,635 acres | Lee Fire: 106,672 acres Total Personnel: 1,036
Containment: Elk Fire: 9% | Lee Fire 6% Cause: Lightning
Resources: 14 Aircraft | 23 Hand Crews | 51 Engines | 6 Heavy Equipment
Important Notes: Today, with winds coming from the north/northwest, the Rifle community in the I-70 corridor will see smoke from the Lee Fire. Due to mostly clear skies, fire activity is expected to increase early in the day. For the latest air quality in your area, visit fire.airnow.gov.
Yesterday: Lee Fire – Red Flag Warning weather conditions caused more extreme fire behavior in the Lee Fire. Winds coming from the northwest pushed the fire to the south and east. Fire personnel attempted to catch spot fires as the fire was progressing south with some success. All aircraft were utilized during the day to assist in these efforts. Values at risk, which includes private residences, were the main priority to protect from the fire’s spread. Firefighters on the west side of the fire were successful with strategic firing operations along the highway 13 corridor to continue reinforcing the line. Firefighters in the north and northeast side of the fire were successful in strengthening firelines and building confidence in the holdings that were put in.
Elk Fire: Firefighters have been able to build upon previous efforts to continue strengthening fireline. The Elk Fire has benefitted from cloud coverage and firefighters have taken advantage of the lower fire activity. Continued mop-up and structure protection has worked well especially along the County Road 8 corridor.
Current Situation: Lee Fire – Firefighters will continue efforts of point protection for structures at risk. The southern end of the fire is well-staffed and prepared for more extreme fire behavior moving south. Fire resources are looking ahead strategically as they plan out for the next several days looking for areas of opportunity. The primary objective is to keep the fire west of Hwy 13 and north of CR 5. Under current conditions, this will prove to be a challenge to firefighters.
Elk Fire: Firefighters will continue to patrol and mop up containment lines to keep the fire from further spread. Structure protection resources will remain in place around residences and other values at risk. As progress is being made on the Elk Fire resources will be moved to assist with Lee Fire operations.
Weather & Fire Behavior: Near-critical fire weather will return today, this will include low relative humidity, periods of gusty winds from the north/northwest and lack of cloud coverage. The very dry fuels with the expected weather could result in extreme fire behavior in some areas of the Lee Fire.
Evacuations and Closures: Go to the Rio Branco County Sheriff’s Office Facebook page –
https://www.facebook.com/RioBlancoCountySheriffsOffice – for accurate up-to-date information on all evacuations and road closures. To sign up for emergency alerts at: https://rioblancoalerts.genasys.com/portal/en. For Garfield County, go to: https://www.garfieldcounty.net/.
White River National Forest closure information at:
https://www.fs.usda.gov/r02/whiteriver/alerts. BLM White River Field Office closures information at:
https://www.blm.gov/announcement/blm-colorado-issues-emergency-closure-public-lands-rio-blanco-county.
Elk and Lee Fire Information:
Phone: 970-341-8665; Email: 2025.elkrbx@firenet.gov
Facebook: www.facebook.com/elkleefire
Iniciweb Lee Fire: https://inciweb.wildfire.gov/incident-information/cowrd-lee-fire
Inciweb Elk Fire: https://inciweb.wildfire.gov/incident-information/cowrd-elk-rbx-fire