Over the weekend, more than an inch of rain fell, damaging sites and a tunnel on the main access road. Crews had to quickly clear mud from the roadsides as visitors returned to the re-opened park Monday. A federal team doing emergency restoration on the burned areas is worried that more rain could unleash flooding and erosion and damage archaeological sites. Hydrologist Earl Ruby said the rain caused mudslides into the park's Morefield Canyon wastewater lagoons, which could be destroyed if debris continues to wash into the canyon. The two fires have led to the discovery of an estimated 2,000 archaeological sites.
Officials expect to find more in spots where fire stripped the land bare.
The rehab team will recommend what work needs to be done. Recovery funds will also be given to the Ute Mountain Ute Reservation and U.S. Bureau of Land Management. The large cliff dwellings, smaller sites and artifacts were left by the Ancestral Pueblo Indians, a civilization that vanished more than 700 years ago. The park has an estimated 25,000 archaeological sites. Only 850 have been documented because of a lack of funding.