Fast-moving wildfire forces evacuation of Colorado prison
The wildfire is nearing the fifth-largest blaze in Colorado history.

A Colorado prison was evacuated because of a fast-growing wildfire that’s already one of the largest in state history, officials said.
The spread of the Lee Fire in western Colorado forced the relocation of 179 incarcerated people at the Rifle Correctional Center to the Buena Vista Correctional Complex on Aug. 9, a Colorado Department of Corrections news release said. No injuries were reported at the prison about 70 miles northeast of Grand Junction, but the inmates were moved as a precaution, authorities said.
The Lee Fire, which began Aug. 2, has burned more than 106,700 acres, according to an update on InciWeb, a government website that monitors wildfires. The blaze has been 6% contained.
Firefighters are battling near-critical fire weather, including lower humidity and gusty winds. Despite cooler temperatures, the fire is aided by drier vegetation and steep slopes.
The blaze is nearing the fifth-largest fire in state history by acreage: the 2018 Spring Creek Fire, which burned more than 108,000 acres. All of Colorado’s 20 largest fires have been recorded in the past 25 years, according to the state Division of Fire Prevention and Control.
The cause of the Lee Fire is still undetermined. In an overview of the fire, InciWeb said the Lee and Grease fires, which eventually formed together, were "discovered on August 2nd as lightning strikes on Bureau of Land Management land in the Piceance area."
“Drought with severe and extreme weather conditions, along with multiple days of red flag warnings and heightened fire activity, the Lee fire grew over 100,000 acres in eight days,” according to InciWeb.
Several Western states, including Colorado, are battling large wildfires. California is battling its largest fire of 2025: An estimated 118,000 acres have burned in the Gifford Fire; the fire is 33% contained, according to InciWeb.
Eduardo Cuevas is based in New York City. Reach him by email at emcuevas1@usatoday.com or on Signal at emcuevas.01.