MEEKER, Colo. — Firefighters are continuing to battle challenging weather conditions as they try to contain the Lee and Elk Fires which have distressed residents in nearby Meeker.
Temperatures in the high 80’s to low 90’s, dry conditions and wind have prompted another day of Red Flag Warnings for the area.
The Lee Fire has exploded to 127,107 acres and containment dropped to 3% Thursday because the fire’s perimeter continues to grow. Three homes and 12 outbuildings have burned, according to fire officials.
Meanwhile, the Elk Fire is 14,518 acres and 75% contained.
“It's a little eerie, every time we feel like maybe we can start to relax, we're quickly reminded in some kind of way that we this is not over and it's still relatively close,” Meeker resident Bree Duncan said.
Duncan has lived in Meeker for four years. She evacuated last Tuesday for four days with her mother, two daughters and best friend. Her father and husband joined them on Wednesday when the fire jumped the highway and inched closer to their property.
They returned home when they got word the fire had been contained from moving in the direction of their home and it was safe.
The valley view from her home is now blackened by large burn scars. The sky is thick with smoke, and she says the ominous glow of the fire can be seen at night.
“I know it's far away now, but it looks like it's just beyond the next mountain ridge, and that is terrifying,” Duncan said. “I've never had to pack up my entire home and appraise what was worth saving and what wasn't.”
As the Lee fire moves south towards the Garfield County line, Duncan wants other communities who may be impacted to know they are not alone.
“I wish I had prepared more. Look up quick ways to pack things, how to store things quickly, how to utilize what you have,” Duncan said.
Duncan said the Meeker community is close and they have rallied around each other during this emergency. Helping one another evacuate everything from livestock to children and then return home again even as the fire looms a safe distance away.
There are 1,274 people working on both fires combined. Many are local firefighters and law enforcement working around the clock.
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Duncan is grateful to those emergency responders, and wants to find a way to support them.
“Just to give them the recognition that they deserve,” Duncan said. “You really don't know until it happens to you, and you really don't see until it happens to you.”
