MEEKER - Over the weekend, Governor Polis verbally declared a disaster emergency to support response efforts for the Elk Fire in Rio Blanco County, Southeast of Meeker, Colorado. Yesterday, he updated that disaster emergency to also include the Lee Fire, which prior to the evening of the 4th, had only been burning on Bureau of Land Management (BLM) land, Southwest of Meeker. This updated designation went into effect at 12:01 AM on August 5.
The Lee fire has since merged with the Grease fire, another fire that started on BLM land, and is now designated as the Lee fire. The Lee fire now includes federal, state, and private lands and is growing rapidly. The fire has displaced multiple residents due to extreme fire behavior, and more residents have been placed on pre-evacuation status.
The Lee fire is from the same weather event and is being managed by the same Complex Incident Management Team managing the Elk fire. The County Sheriff has stated the fires have exceeded local capacity and has requested that it be designated a State Responsibility Fire. Fire conditions in northwest Colorado remain at near record levels, and elevated fire weather and fire risk is forecast for the coming week.
With the disaster declaration, the State Emergency Operations and Resource Mobilization Plans are activated and the Colorado Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management (DHSEM) coordinates the overall state response under the Disaster Emergency Response Act through the State Emergency Operations Center and deployment of field operations staff to directly support county emergency managers. The Division of Fire Prevention and Control (DFPC) is the state’s lead fire management agency and is assisting with incident management efforts and mobilization of fire suppression resources with the support of the other CDPS Divisions.
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