As fires burned across Colorado on Tuesday, valuable artifacts on the Ute Mountain Ute Reservation were threatened, and a firefighting helicopter crashed near Loveland, though no one was seriously injured.
The 300-acre Dwelling fire has interrupted daily archaeology tours near Mancos, said Veronica Cuthair, director of Ute Mountain Ute Tribal Park.
Cuthair said a flight over the fire Tuesday night would provide more information about which resources were threatened.
Crews reported the fire was 40 percent contained Tuesday night.
The park features Anasazi cave dwellings, petroglyphs, tools and pieces of pottery rivaling those found in Mesa Verde National Park, said Tom Rice, the tribe’s resource adviser.
Archaeologists are familiar with the dangers fires pose to ancient artifacts, said state archaeologist Susan Colllins.
“Sometimes sand gets so hot, petroglyphs and pictographs will literally flake off and the art will fall off the wall,” she said.
Hotshot crews, water tenders, engines and all aircraft were pulled from the 2,518-acre Trail East fire 5 miles away to fight the Dwelling fire. The Trail East fire was 75 percent contained.
The same federal team will manage both fires, which is stretching the team’s resources, said Larry Trapp, deputy incident commander for the team. About 400 people battled both fires Tuesday.
Mesa Verde National Park is open and not affected by the fires.
More than a dozen fires in Colorado and red-flag conditions – weather that presents a likelihood of fires – in South Dakota, Montana, Wyoming and Utah could strain local and national resources, said Justin Dombrowski, Boulder County wild-land fire management officer.
“You start to stretch the system. You start to pull it a little tight, and people start to get tired,” Dombrowski said. “If this continues for a few months, then we’ll start to run into problems.”
Meanwhile, a helicopter crashed at about 3:15 p.m. Tuesday while en route to the 14-acre Drake fire in Larimer County.
Officials with the National Transportation Safety Board were expected to visit the crash site, though it was unclear whether they would be able to reach it before nightfall.
The pilot, who has not been identified, was transported to Poudre Valley Hospital by Greeley Air Life and is in stable condition, according to Terra Mascarenas, fire information officer for the Arapahoe and Roosevelt national forests.
The crash occurred in a burned-over area past the end of Waltonia Road that is inaccessible by car. No further fires were started from the crash. Emergency medical personnel brought the pilot out on foot, Mascarenas said.
The Drake fire was 100 percent contained by 2 p.m. Tuesday, she said.
Elsewhere in Colorado:
The 1,182-acre Rio Blanco fire 10 miles southeast of Pagosa Springs is being allowed to burn for ecological restoration.
The 75-acre Rocky fire is 80 percent contained.
The 10-acre Toner fire just east of Williams Lake also is being allowed to burn and is not expected to grow because of natural barriers and snow.
The 31-acre Bragg fire on private land in La Plata County has been mopped up with firefighters still patrolling for hot spots.
The 848-acre Naturita Ridge fire 5 miles south of Naturita is burning freely for ecological restoration.
Temperatures in the 90s and low relative humidity helped the Craig Draw fire, near Norwood, grow 80 acres to 580 acres Tuesday, said Lew French, fire information officer. The fire is 75 percent contained.
In northwest Colorado, the 2,325-acre Pack Trail fire will continue to burn for ecological reasons. Private landowners have allowed the fire to burn 1,455 acres of their land.
An off-duty firefighter was found dead in his hotel room in Cortez on Monday morning, fire officials said Tuesday.
Gerald Martinez , 53, of Camp Crook, S.D., died of a heart attack, according to the Montezuma County coroner’s preliminary results.
He had been stationed in Colorado since July 7.
Staff writer Monte Whaley contributed to this report.
Staff writer Michelle Wallar can be reached at 303-820-1201 or mwallar@denverpost.com.
