Rio Blanco County officials lifted some mandatory evacuation and pre-evacuation orders Friday afternoon for the Elk and Lee fires burning near the Western Slope town of Meeker.

The Town of Meeker remains under pre-evacuation status as the Lee Fire, the state's largest, continues to pose a challenge for firefighters who are working around the clock amid hot, dry conditions that are expected to last through at least Friday night.

When a 60,000-acre wildfire is breathing down the neck of a small northwestern Colorado town, the locals don’t freeze. The follow their first instinct — to jump into action to protect