Five active wildfires — the Lee, Elk, Oak, Stoner Mesa and Crosho fires — have charred more than 143,000 acres, or 222 square miles, on the Western Slope in recent days.

The Lee Fire near Meeker, now the fifth largest fire in Colorado's history, is just one four major fires in western Colorado threatening homes and other structures as firefighters struggle to get containment.

A state prison in rural western Colorado has been evacuated due to a massive fire that has spread to more than 110,000 acres, state authorities said Sunday. The Lee Fire is now the fifth-largest blaze in the Colorado’s history,