Wind Shift Help Firefighters Burned Pinon Juniper trees stand in stark contrast to a morning sky in Mesa Verde National Park, Colo., July 25.
Wildfires continue to threaten important archaeology sites.
Nearly 700 firefighters are battling the Mesa Verde National Park blaze, which has burned 22,630 acres, including 18,630 acres on park land, since Thursday and is only 15 percent contained. According to Tim Oliverious, a U.S. Park fire management officer, the blaze stalled today at an area damaged by previous fires in 1972 and 1996. In those areas, the shrubs were shorter and spaced farther apart, providing less fuel for the fire. But incident commander Joe Hartman said the fire was still burning briskly on the Ute Mountain Ute Indian reservation. Gov. Bill Owens declared a state of disaster emergency for the fire area and dispatched about two dozen Colorado National Guard soldiers plus equipment to the scene.