The Colorado Department of Corrections has evacuated inmates in the Rifle Correctional Center due to the conditions of the Lee Fire.

At last mapping, the Lee fire had grown to more than 100,000 acres, which would rank it sixth all-time among Colorado wildfires. It is burning to the north of Garfield County in Rio Blanco, but spread rapidly southeast on Friday and Saturday. Updates to the Lee and nearby Elk fires are being posted to Facebook.

More than half a dozen wildfires continued to burn across Colorado Monday, including a new fire that sparked on Sunday afternoon near Pagosa Springs.

Colorado is battling one of its largest wildfires, the Lee Fire, which has burned over 130,000 acres and is just 7% contained. More than 1,000 firefighters are on the ground, with evacuation orders in place for mountain communities.

All 179 inmates at Rifle Correctional Center have been evacuated after concerns over the nearby Lee Fire in Rio Blanco, the Colorado Department of Corrections (CDOC) said. The inmates were relocated around 10:30 p.