 |
 |
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
Bircher Fire
July 2000 was a hot month with almost no rain, so conditions were extremely dangerous in Southwest Colorado.
About 1:30 PM on Thursday the 20th, fire from a lightning strike was spotted on the Bircher farm, private property near the entrance of Mesa Verde National Park. Since there is only one exit from the park, nearly 1000 visitors were evacuated. Firefighters from around the nation worked for nine days to contain the most destructive fire in the 94-year history of the park. Click here for Fire maps.
The Fire
Historically fire has been a frequent visitor to Mesa Verde, the first national park created to preserve archeological treasures. This fire was more intense than even the 1996 Chapin #5 Fire which burned a record 4750 acres. The fast moving Bircher Fire burned 1000 acres the first day, 5000 acres on Friday, then blew out of control on Saturday and Sunday. The fire raged through tinder-dry Utah Juniper, Pinyon Pine, and Gambel Oak. Thunderstorms with strong downdrafts caused the fire to spread to cliffs, rimrock, and inaccessible slopes. The smoke plume could be seen 30 miles to the west. While fighting the fire, the first concern was always the safety of firefighters and the public.On Saturday, firefighters worked furiously to protect Morefield Campground while residences and commercial buildings on private land were threatened, but not damaged. By Tuesday, flames moved to within 3 miles of Cliff Palace, but when they reached sparsely vegetated areas from previous fires. Before being contained on July 29, the fire burned an area 8 miles long and 4 miles wide.
 |
The plume-dominated inferno had flame lengths of up to 300 feet, flames so high fire crews could not work in front of them and retardant didn’t work—it was too hot.
|
 |
Needed repairs included replacing telephone and utility cables and two miles of guardrails along the park’s main road.
|
 |
Aerial support helped keep the hottest parts of the fire from spreading and cooled the fire enough that hand crews could secure lines to protect prehistoric structures and modern improvements on Chapin Mesa.
|
Impact
A major conflagration like the Bircher Fire has a significant impact on the park, its resources, and surrounding communities. The closure of Mesa Verde for two weeks meant economic losses for tourist-related businesses. The only structures to receive substantial damage were an historic cabin and an observation tower. Much of the burn area had not been surveyed for archaeological sites. After the 1996 fire archeologists found 372 previously unknown sites, mounds of rocks, pottery sherds, and depressions in the dirt where walls had once stood that had been covered by overgrown vegetation. The Bircher Fire was four times larger. Artifacts found tell stories of hunter-gatherers and farmers who lived on the mesas’ area built structures. 
Thirteen archeologists working with fire teams at times helped locate fire lines, but on other occasions could do little more than document the existence of a site. Major fires swept through Mesa Verde in 1934, 1959, 1972, 1989 and 1996. The two most recent fires had been subjects of scientific study. Studies show that the two major vegetative types respond to fire in different ways. Mountain shrublands of oak and serviceberry quickly re-sprout, recovering areas in just a few years. Pinyon and juniper forests are likely to be colonized by grasses and non-native plants such as thistle. It may take as long as 300 years before evergreen woodland is restored.
Looking Forward
It is exciting to find new archeological sites, but fire destroys vegetation that protected sites and fire suppression efforts can be destructive. A Department of the Interior Burned Area Emergency Rehabilitation (BAER) Team has been working to mitigate the adverse effects of the fire and/or its suppression on soil, water, and critically threatened natural and cultural resources. The BAER Team planned emergency measures to deal with soil erosion, road building and repair, threats to rare species, and protection of archeological sites. Fuel reduction programs will continue to reduce overgrown vegetation in order to lessen the danger of fire damage in the future.Visitors can join in watching the renewal of Mesa Verde and in learning from the wildfire—nature’s grand display of change.
