MEEKER - This evening, Governor Polis authorized the mobilization of the Colorado National Guard to support fire response efforts for the Elk Fire in Rio Blanco County, Southeast of Meeker, Colorado and for the Lee Fire, Southwest of Meeker. The authorization is intended to provide the state authority to utilize National Guard assets to support fire suppression efforts should they be necessary.
The wind continues driving the fires in Rio Blanco County. Today, the Lee fire jumped CO Highway 13, leading to the areas around Meeker being evacuated and the entire Town of Meeker being on pre-evacuation status. The Lee fire is estimated to be approximately 45,000 acres in size as of the evening of Wednesday, August 6.
Over the weekend, Governor Polis verbally declared a disaster emergency to support response efforts for the Elk Fire in Rio Blanco County, Southeast of Meeker, Colorado. Yesterday, he updated that disaster emergency to also include the Lee Fire, which prior to the evening of the 4th, had only been burning on Bureau of Land Management (BLM) land, Southwest of Meeker. This updated designation went into effect at 12:01 AM on August 5.
With the disaster declaration, the State Emergency Operations and Resource Mobilization Plans are activated, and the Colorado Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management (DHSEM) coordinates the overall state response under the Disaster Emergency Response Act through the State Emergency Operations Center and deployment of field operations staff to directly support county emergency managers. The Division of Fire Prevention and Control (DFPC) is the state’s lead fire management agency and is assisting with incident management efforts and mobilization of fire suppression resources with the support of the other divisions in the Colorado Department of Public Safety.
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