Overview

• Incident management teams have mobilized over 1,000 firefighters supported by aircraft, engines, hand crews and heavy equipment to tackle both the Lee and nearby Elk fires.
• Authorities have issued mandatory evacuation orders for multiple zones south and west of Meeker as fire lines and smoke threaten residential areas.
• The Colorado Department of Corrections relocated 179 inmates from the Rifle Correctional Center to the Buena Vista facility as a precautionary safety measure.
• The Elk Fire has remained stable near 14,600 acres with containment improving to roughly 30 percent amid ongoing critical fire weather forecasts.
• Governor Jared Polis declared a disaster emergency to unlock additional state resources for the regional wildfire response and bolster efforts against the Oak Fire.