A fire in the Great Sand Dunes National Park and Reserve crested the Sangre de Cristo Mountains and may have crept into the the San Isabel National Forest on Friday, officials say.
But the fire is not as active today and isn’t expected to grow as much on Sunday, even though the area is under a Red Flag Warning.
The National Park Service says the “Medano Fire” is now 4,312 acres — a lower estimate than previously reported because of more accurate mapping using infrared imaging on aircraft.
A Type II inter-agency crew has taken over coordination of the fire. A hotshot crew is in position to keep watch on the fire.
Firefighters are mostly monitoring the activity because the fire is burning in steep, rugged terrain and posing no threat to humans or structures, said David Eaker, spokesman with the National Parks Service.
“Right now, we are not doing a whole lot because of the safety factor,” Eaker said. “The last thing we want to do is get a firefighter injured.”
The fire was 450 acres just a couple of days ago but had a huge flare up on Thursday, producing a large smoke plume.
The park remains open and no park facilities are endangered, officials say.
However, the Medano Pass primitive road, where the fire is believed to have started 13 days ago with a lightning strike, and Sand Ramp trail are closed.
As a precautionary measure, Mosca Trail pass has been designated as day-use only.
Carol Sperling, park spokeswoman, said the fire is traveling roughly to the northeast from the southwest.
“The fire is following fuel though, so it’s kind of squiggling around,” she said. “The wind is pushing it mostly away from developed areas into the high country.”
Crews initially stood by and monitored the flames because the fire was burning off dead wood and vegetation in an ecosystem that benefits from periodic natural blazes, Sperling said.
However the fire has since moved near to the San Isabel National Forest and there are about 50 firefighters battling the growing flames.
Sperling said crews were setting small fires to protect historically significant archeological sites, including fire hearths, a low masonry wall and sacred ponderosa pines used by the Apache and other Native American tribes.
Crews rake the burnable material away from the sites and set fire to the piles, eliminating potential future fuel sources, she said.
“It was interesting because they actually found a couple more trees that people didn’t know about,” she said.
Sperling said the fire is entirely on federal lands that are considered to be acceptable for fire.
The fire is gaining acreage and there was a small flare up when the wind picked up this morning, she said.
“It’s at the mercy of the wind to see where it’s going to take this,” Sperling said.
Bianca Davis: 303-954-1698 or bsmith-davis@denverpost.com
