Lee Fire is one of the top 5 largest wildfires in Colorado history

The Lee Fire in northwest Colorado was recorded at 137,758 acres on Monday evening. The fire burning near Meeker burned almost as much as the Hayman Fire, which burned 137,760 acres between Denver and Colorado Springs in 2002. It is now in the top 5 for the largest fires the state has seen in its recorded history.

The Lee Fire is 90% contained, but has already destroyed several homes and government structures in Rio Blanco County and forced a number of evacuations.

More than 1,100 firefighters, 6 aircraft, 23 hand crews, 78 engines, and 46 pieces of heavy equipment are involved in the efforts to extinguish the Lee Fire, according to the Rocky Mountain Incident Management Team.

The fire was started by lightning on Aug. 2 on Bureau of Land Management-managed land in the Piceance Creek area. 

Drought conditions, along with severe and extreme weather conditions and multiple days of red flag warnings and heightened fire activity, helped the Lee fire grow over 100,000 acres in eight days, according to the National Forest Service.   

Correction: An earlier version of this story stated that the fire had surpassed the Hayman Fire in size, which turns out -- due to an adjusted acreage number from officials -- is not the case.