Lee Fire

Lee Fire
Part of the 2025 Colorado wildfires
Lee Fire in August of 2025
Date(s)August 2, 2025 (2025-08-02) – Present
LocationMeeker, Colorado
Coordinates39°57′52″N 108°09′05″W / 39.96444°N 108.15139°W / 39.96444; -108.15139
Statistics
Perimeter60% contained
Burned area137,485 acres (55,638 ha)
Impacts
Ignition
CauseLightning
Map
Lee Fire is located in Colorado
Lee Fire
Location in northwest Colorado

The Lee Fire is an extremely large active wildfire burning near Meeker, Colorado that began on August 2, 2025. As of August 18, the fire had an active fire perimeter of 137,485 acres (55,638 ha) and is 60% contained.[1][2]

It is the fifth largest wildfire in Colorado history and the third largest wildfire in the United States during the 2025 wildfire season.[3][4]

Fire history

August

The Lee Fire was first reported on August 2, 2025 at around 4:59 pm MST.[2]

On August 5, 2025 Colorado Governor Jared Polis issued a state of emergency for four wildfires burning in western Colorado, including the Lee Fire, which had merged overnight with a second lightning-caused fire to grow to 14,000 acres (5,700 ha).[5] On August 7, the Governor mobilized the National Guard as part of "mobilizing every available resource to protect lives and property."[6] The fire had grown to 45,000 acres (18,000 ha), becoming the then-largest wildfire in Colorado. It remained at 0% contained as strong winds advanced the fire on several fronts, after making large runs on August 6, sometimes advancing about 1 mph (1.6 km/h). On the same day, "a large smoke cloud collapsed causing the fire to jump Colorado 13 and rapidly consume 100 acres before firefighting aircraft could get ahead of it."[6]

On 6–7 August, firefighters focused on slowing the advance to the north, and positioning to protect houses and structures, as the fire was threatening the town of Meeker.[6] By the 9th, more focus had been added to the south side of the fire to try to protect structures in that area as the fire had rapidly expanded southward.[7]

The active fire perimeter was 61,600 acres (24,900 ha) on August 8,[2] growing to 88,800 acres (35,900 ha) by August 9, still with 0% contained.[7][8]

By Sunday August 10, one week after the fire started, the fire perimeter had expanded to 106,700 acres (43,200 ha) with the interagency fire service stating that six percent containment had been achieved.[9] Fire area growth had slowed by August 11, with 113,000 acres, 7000 acres more than the day before, but less expansion than any of the five previous days. "The containment line for the Lee fire is on the northeastern corner of the fire, closest to Meeker," and is now 7% contained.[3]

Cause

The cause of the fire is believed to be due to lightning.[10]

Impact

Closures and evacuations

The city of Meeker, Colorado was placed on pre-evacuation notice on August 7, and Colorado State Highway 13 was closed for 50+ miles south of Meeker, closing one of only three routes out of town.[11]

See also

References

  1. ^ Williams, Brooke (August 12, 2025). "Lee Fire now among largest in Colorado history: How it compares". KDVR. Retrieved August 12, 2025.
  2. ^ a b c "Lee Fire Information - InciWeb the Incident Information System". inciweb.wildfire.gov. August 8, 2025. Retrieved August 8, 2025.
  3. ^ a b Krause, David. "Lee fire now 5th-largest in state history, burning more than 113k acres in northwestern Colorado". Colorado Sun. Retrieved August 11, 2025.
  4. ^ Spencer, Ryan (August 14, 2025). "Gov. Polis declares statewide disaster emergency amid 'historic fire activity' in Colorado". Retrieved August 15, 2025.
  5. ^ Wendland ·, Tegan (August 5, 2025). "Gov. Polis declares state of disaster for Western Slope wildfires, Lee and Grease fires merge overnight". Colorado Public Radio. Retrieved August 6, 2025.
  6. ^ a b c "National Guard called to help firefighters battling "really, really fast" wildfires in northwestern Colorado". Colorado Sun. August 7, 2025. Retrieved August 9, 2025.
  7. ^ a b Krause, David. "Lee fire west of Meeker is so large it is creating its own weather system". Colorado Sun. Retrieved August 9, 2025.
  8. ^ "Lee Fire". watchduty.org. Retrieved August 9, 2025.
  9. ^ Krause, David. "Lee fire tops 106k acres as firefighters in northwestern Colorado start to gain containment". Colorado Sun. Retrieved August 10, 2025.
  10. ^ Prentzel, Olivia (August 4, 2025). "Wildfire burning near Meeker destroys 3 buildings, explodes to 3,000 acres". The Colorado Sun. Retrieved August 6, 2025.
  11. ^ "Rio Blanco fires remain zero percent contained Thursday morning; Evacuation shelters established in Craig and Rangely". Vail Daily. August 7, 2025. Retrieved August 9, 2025.
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