Colorado wildfires: Gov. Polis activates National Guard, all of Meeker on pre-evacuation status

Lauren Penington and Katie Langford, The Denver Post on Aug 7, 2025

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DENVER — Two uncontained wildfires have charred thousands of acres and reached within a mile of the Western Slope town of Meeker, forcing evacuations as the flames jump highways and the threaten to cross the White River.

The lightning-sparked Lee and Elk fires are burning east and west of Meeker in Rio Blanco County, putting the entire town of around 2,400 people on pre-evacuation status as evacuation orders from both fires begin to merge.

Gov. Jared Polis mobilized the Colorado National Guard on Wednesday as extremely dry conditions and wind fuel growth on both fires.

The Lee and Elk fires have scorched 45,000 acres and 14,250 acres, respectively, as of Wednesday evening.

The governor verbally issued a disaster declaration on Sunday for the Elk fire. He updated that declaration on Tuesday to include the Lee fire.

An air quality advisory is in effect Thursday for Moffat, Routt, Grand, Rio Blanco and Jackson counties as four active wildfires burning on 61,000 acres send smoke across the state.

The advisory was issued at 8:07 a.m. and will remain active through at least 9 a.m. Friday.

Residents should remain indoors when possible, according to the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment.

“If visibility is less than 5 miles in smoke in your neighborhood, smoke has reached levels that are unhealthy,” state health officials said in the advisory.

A multiple-pollutant “action day” was also issued for the Front Range and metro area. A combination of hot weather and wildfire smoke could make the air quality unhealthy for sensitive groups, state officials said in the action day alert.

The alert includes the Front Range Urban Corridor from Douglas County north to Larimer and Weld Counties. It will remain in effect through at least 4 p.m. Thursday.

The Lee fire southwest of Meeker

One of the wildfires burning near Meeker in Rio Blanco County has continued to multiply its footprint each day, consuming roughly 45,000 acres with no containment as of Wednesday evening, fire officials said.

The 45,000-acre Lee fire was sparked Saturday by lightning and is now the largest wildfire burning in Colorado. The fire was only 700 acres on Sunday afternoon and was mapped at 22,497 acres on Wednesday.

Meeker is about 70 miles northwest of Glenwood Springs and 40 miles north of Interstate 70.

Hot, dry and windy conditions pushed the “extremely active” fire to the north on Wednesday, across Colorado 13 and toward Meeker, sheriff’s officials said in a Thursday morning update.

The evacuation zones expanded Wednesday night and are bordered to the west by Red Canyon, the south by Fourmile Creek along Colorado 13 and Timber Gulch, the north by Colorado 64 and the east by Greasewood Gulch.

Stretches of Colorado 64, the Flat Tops Trail Scenic Byway and the town of Meeker were on pre-evacuation orders Wednesday.

The Lee fire has since merged with the Grease fire, another fire that started on Bureau of Land Management land near Meeker. The fire is now burning on federal, state and private land and is growing rapidly, fire officials said.

The Elk fire east of Meeker

Just miles away from the Lee fire, on the other side of Meeker, a second wildfire is burning on more than 14,000 acres.

The Elk fire grew roughly 6,000 acres on Wednesday, scorching a total of 14,250 acres with no containment, according to fire officials. Just days earlier, on Sunday, it had only burned 600 acres.

It has destroyed at least two homes and one outbuilding since it started Saturday afternoon.

The growing evacuation zones for the Elk and Lee fires have met in the middle, with areas to the north and south under pre-evacuation orders.

As of Thursday morning, the Elk fire evacuation zone is bordered to the west by the Lee fire evacuation areas, the north by County Road 49 and the south by White River.

The Stoner Mesa fire in San Juan National Forest

The wildfire that evacuated part of the San Juan National Forest on Tuesday had grown to roughly 51 acres as of Wednesday evening, U.S. Forest Service officials said.

The uncontained Stone Mesa fire is burning about 20 miles northeast of Dolores in a “remote, extremely difficult-to-access area” of the national forest.

Dolores County officials issued evacuation orders for parts of the forest on Stoner and Taylor Mesa, including:

The cause of the fire remains under investigation Thursday.

The Twelve fire in Moffat County

A fourth wildfire is burning near Elk Springs in Moffat County, about 50 miles west of Craig, sheriff’s officials said Wednesday.

The Twelve fire sparked at about 3 p.m. Wednesday and grew to 1,000 acres in less than five hours. An updated size estimate was not available Thursday.

No homes have been lost, but sheriff’s officials said two outbuildings were destroyed overnight.

U.S. 40 was temporarily closed between Blue Mountain and Lowell Street in Maybell for the fire, but the highway reopened early Thursday morning, Moffat County sheriff’s officials said. Deer Lodge Road remains closed.

The cause of the wildfire remains under investigation.

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