Two uncontained wildfires have charred thousands of acres and reached within a mile of the Western Slope town of Meeker, forcing evacuations as the flames jump highways and the threaten to cross

At least six new wildfires ignited along Colorado's Western Slope over the weekend, bringing the total number of wildfires burning across state and federal lands to more than 10.

The fire — called the Twelve fire on the Bureau of Land Management’s fire dashboard — burned across 1,000 acres over the course of five hours Wednesday after sparking in Moffat County near Elk Springs, about 50 miles west of Craig, according to federal officials.

High winds and extreme drought conditions in northwest Colorado have fueled the rapid growth of two wildfires this week near Meeker in Rio Blanco County, where firefighting crews say they’re prioritizing structure protection with “limited resources” on hand.

Multiple evacuation orders have been issued for Rio Blanco county in northwest Colorado due to fast-moving wildfires. The Lee Fire has nearly doubled in size as it approaches the town of Meeker.