Two fires near the northwest Colorado town of Meeker have continued rapid growth over recent days, burning to the east and the west of the 2,390-resident town.

According to Rocky Mountain Incident Management Team, Elk Fire, to the east of Meeker, has reached 7,750 acres per a Tuesday morning report – also notably close to the town of Buford. Meanwhile, Lee Fire, to the west of Meeker, has reached 13,025 acres.

EDITOR’S NOTE: An initial Tuesday morning report related to this situation from the Rio Blanco County Sheriff’s Office and the Rocky Mountain Incident Management Team inaccurately reversed the acreage of these two fires. A correction has since been sent out, with the acreage listed in the article above reflecting the correction sent out by the aforementioned agencies.

Weather conditions and dry fuels continue to be a challenge for firefighters, with 297 personnel assigned to the duo of fires. With containment at zero percent per the RMIMT report, additional resources are mobilizing. Wind has been particularly problematic, with 18 mph winds expected throughout Tuesday along with gusts that could hit 25 mph.

At last report, the Elk Fire had destroyed two homes and one outbuilding. No update was released on whether or not additional homes had been destroyed in the most recent report.

While some evacuations and road closures are active in the area of the blazes, a Monday night update from the Rio Blanco Sheriff’s Office was clear in stating that the town of Meeker was not under any sort of pre-evacuation or evacuation notice at that time.

Those in the area have been instructed to sign up for the Rio Blanco County alerts system, which can be done here.

Regular updates related to these fires have been published on the Rio Blanco Sheriff’s Office Facebook page.