Road closures and evacuation orders are in place in multiple towns, while several others remain in pre-evacuation status. Although there have been no reported residential losses, one of the state's longest-burning fires, the South Rim fire, is still burning in the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park and has destroyed several buildings.
The Lee fire, which started as separate fires but grew by over 8,000 acres after the two combined earlier this week, is still at 0 percent containment in Rio Blanco County, with the entire town of Meeker on pre-evacuation orders and nearby residences already having evacuated. So far nearly 60,000 acres have burned in the Lee fire.
The Elk fire, also near Meeker, has burned nearly 15,000 acres as of August 7, with evacuation orders in place for some residents living along County Road 8. That fire is also at 0 percent containment.
A few other wildfires are burning large areas of land but haven't yet led to evacuation orders, including the Turner Gultch fire in Mesa County (26,441 acres, 49 percent contained), South Rim Fire in the Black Canyon of the Gunnison (4,232 acres, 52 percent contained) and Deer Creek fire (17,724 acres, 97 percent contained).
Grand and Moffat counties are currently dealing with smaller but growing fires. Highway 40 in Moffat is closed in both directions around milepost 40 during the Twelve fire, which quickly grew to over 4,000 acres by August 7, according to Moffat County Sheriff's Office. Residents in Grand County are under pre-evacuation orders as the Windy gap fire slowly grows beyond thirty acres. Less than five years ago, Grand and Larimer counties were scarred by the East Troublesome Fire, the state's second-largest recorded wildfire. burning for over six weeks, the fire covered almost 194,000 acres, destroyed 555 buildings and killed twelve people.
Extreme winds and dry weather could cause several of these fires to grow, but they still have a long way to go before reaching the size of Colorado's largest wildfires.
Wildfires in Colorado have become increasingly common during the summer — although the dry climate and high winds have resulted in plenty of blazing destruction in winter, as well. According to the state Division of Fire Prevention & Control, all twenty of Colorado's largest recorded wildfires have occurred since 2001, with the three largest all happening in 2020.
Find a list of Colorado's largest wildfires and most destructive blazes below.
Largest Wildfires in Colorado
1) Cameron Peak Fire, 2020208,913 acres burned
2) East Troublesome Fire, 2020
193,812 acres burned
3) Pine Gulch Fire, 2020
139,007 acres burned
4) Hayman Fire, 2002
137,760 acres burned
5) Spring Creek Fire, 2018
108,045 acres burned
6) High Park Fire, 2012
87,284 acres burned
7) Missionary Ridge Fire, 2002
70,285 acres burned
8) West Fork Fire, 2013
58,570 acres burned
9) 416 Fire, 2018
54,129 acres burned
10) Papoose Fire, 2013
49,628 acres burned
Most Homes Lost in a Colorado Wildfire
1) Marshall Fire, 20211,084 homes lost
2) Black Forest Fire, 2013
489 homes lost
3) East Troublesome Fire, 2020
366 homes lost
4) Waldo Canyon Fire, 2012
346 homes lost
5) High Park Fire, 2012
259 homes lost
