DENVER (KDVR) — The Lee Fire became the fourth biggest wildfire in Colorado history Monday, having burned 138,844 acres south of Meeker.
Several wildfires are burning across Colorado, mainly along the Western Slope. Gov. Jared Polis made several disaster declarations and authorised the response of the National Guard to wildfires across the state. While many are still burning, the biggest active wildfire is the Lee Fire, which is now the fourth largest in state history.
The Lee Fire and Grease Fire were discovered on Aug. 2 after a lightning strike. The fires joined together, and since then, crews have been working to put out the Lee Fire, which is still burning 11 miles south of Meeker.
After burning for over three weeks, a Monday update from InciWeb said the wildfire burned 138,844 acres, surpassing the former fourth-largest state wildfire, the Hayman Fire in 2002, which burned 137,760 acres between Colorado Springs and Denver.
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Firefighter at the Elk and Lee Fire. -
Night fire crew at Lee and Elk fires. -
Night fire crew at Lee and Elk fires. -
Wyoming Interagency Hotshot Crew on the Lee Fire. -
Wyoming Interagency Hotshot Crew on the Lee Fire. -
The Lee Fire and Elk Fire in Rio Blanco County have burned over 130,000 acres combined as of Aug. 12, 2025. -
The Lee Fire near Meeker Colorado on Aug. 8, 2025. (Garfield County Sheriff’s Office) -
The Lee Fire seen from the east. (Courtesy the Elk and Lee Fire Information page) -
Lee Fire near Highway 13 continues to burn in Rio Blanco County. (Curtesy: Bobby Gutierrez/Wendll’s) -
A view of both the Lee and Grease fires burning outside of Meeker, Colorado, Aug. 3, 2025. (BLM photo by James Michels) -
The Lee Fire and Elk Fire in Rio Blanco County have burned over 130,000 acres combined as of Aug. 12, 2025. -
The Lee Fire near Meeker Colorado on Aug. 8, 2025. (Garfield County Sheriff’s Office) -
The Lee Fire and Elk Fire in Rio Blanco County have burned over 130,000 acres combined as of Aug. 12, 2025.
There are only three other wildfires in Colorado history that are bigger than the Lee Fire now: The Cameron Peak Fire, which burned 208,913 acres west of Fort Collins in 2020 and the nearby East Troublesome Fire, which burned 193,812, as well as the Pine Gulch Fire, which burned 139,007 acres in Mesa and Garfield Counties in 2020, are the three biggest wildfires in state history.
The Lee Fire is now less than 200 acres away from the third-largest wildfire in state history, the Pine Gulch Fire. The Lee Fire is at 90% containment, so it could continue to grow.
FOX31’s Heather Willard contributed to this report.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by PostX News and is published from a syndicated feed.)
