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JULY 24, 2000

A fire apparently caused by lightning last Thursday in the Mesa Verde National Park in Colorado has now tripled in size, burning 17,000 acres in the park known for its historic Pueblo ruins.

The first also has threatened the Ute Mountain Reservation. By Saturday, it spread to the northwest corner of the reservation, causing fire officials to voice concerns about being able to successfully fight the fire.

"We're real worried about the reservation," fire command spokesman Justin Dombrowski told The Denver Rocky Mountain News on Saturday. "In the reservation, there are no roads and no safe point to anchor an aggressive attack. So far we can't even get crews in there."

Instead, air tankers and helicopters have been fighting the reservation portion of the blaze. The area affected is uninhabited.

The National Park Service evacuated all tourists and visitors to the park on Thursday. The entirety of the park's staff have also left Mesa Verde.

So far, fire crews have been battling to keep the flames away from the park's primary Pueblo ruins. The fire is within miles of Cliff Palace, a large cliff dwelling occupied by ancestors of today's Pueblo Indians from about 600 AD to 1300 AD.

There is a flipside, however, to the fire. It has uncovered previously unknown ruins which may give archaeologists more insight into the history and occupation of the region.

Historic and living Pueblo sites were also threatened last month by the Cerro Grande Fire in Bandelier National Monument in New Mexico. The Puye Cliff Dwellings were spared but the Pueblos of Santa Clara and San Ildefonso suffered considerable damage from the fire.

With no end to the Mesa Verde fire in sight just yet, there is concern it may break the Cerro Grande record. The Cerro Grande fire burned 48,000 acres.

Nationwide, almost 3 million acres of land have been affected by wildland fires, according to the National Park Service. Almost 56,000 wildfires have been reported, the majority in the southern states, including Oklahoma.

Related Stories:
Pueblo monument fire out of control (Enviro 05/08)
Fire closes National Laboratory (Enviro 05/09)
Pueblo affected by fire (Enviro 05/11)
Sacred site saved from fire (Enviro 5/15)
Fire burns Pueblo land (Enviro 5/16)
Clinton suspends prescribed burns (Enviro 5/17)
Pueblo seeks fire aid (Enviro 5/18)
Pueblo still affected by fire (Enviro 5/19)

Relevant Links:
The National Interagency Fire Center - www.nifc.gov
Mesa Verde National Park - www.nps.gov/meve/
The Denver Rocky Mountain News - www.rockymountainnews.com