Rio Blanco County wildfires: Polis declares disaster emergency in Crosho Fire, authorizes National Guard response

Yahoo

a day ago

DENVER (KDVR) — Three fires are burning in Colorado's Rio Blanco County, one of which is now the 5th largest in state history and still growing.
The Lee Fire near Meeker has burned more than 120,000 acres as of Tuesday night; the nearby Elk Fire has burned just over 14,500 acres; and the most recently reported Crosho Fire is at 500 acres.
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Several areas near the Lee and Elk fires have been evacuated, and the Crosho Fire has caused pre-evacuation notices near several small Routt County towns.
The three fires are among several others burning in western Colorado, some of which have prompted evacuations of their own.
Gov. Jared Polis has declared a disaster emergency for the Lee and Elk Fires, and the Colorado National Guard has been authorized to assist in the fire response. On Wednesday night, Polis also declared a disaster emergency for the Crosho Fire and authorized the Colorado National Guard for that fire as well.
'I am receiving regular updates on the Lee Fire in western Colorado,' Polis said in an X post. 'We are working to maximize resources for the response, and evacuations are currently underway. Support is available for impacted communities.'
The verbal declaration of a disaster emergency activates the State Emergency Operations and Resource Mobilization Plans, as well as authorizes the Colorado Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management to coordinate the state response.
An interactive map of Elk and Lee Fire evacuations can be found here, and an interactive evacuation map of the Crosho Fire can be found here.
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