A 1,000-acre wildfire burning in the southeastern Colorado grasslands could threaten archaeological sites containing dinosaur tracks, authorities said Friday.
The fire, believed to be lightning-caused, started Tuesday and was nearly contained before wind revived it Thursday night. It was burning about 150 miles southeast of Denver and about 20 miles south of La Junta in Las Animas County, Sheriff James Casias said.
Firefighters were trying to prevent the fire from reaching two canyons, where Casias said it would become much harder to fight.
''Once it gets in those canyons, it's going to be almost impossible to fight it without having air drops,'' he said.
No residences were threatened, and Casias said he didn't believe any would be if the fire does enter the canyons.
About 25 firefighters were on scene.
The fire was active overnight and flames sometimes reached 20 feet high, said Larry Helmerick, spokesman for the Rocky Mountain Area Coordination Center in Lakewood.
Another fire, in western Colorado on Bureau of Land Management land, grew to 198 acres Friday.
The blaze, reported around noon Thursday, was burning in steep, rugged terrain north of Interstate 70 above the tunnel in DeBeque Canyon about 20 miles northeast of Grand Junction.
The fire was burning mainly in cheat grass in three remote drainages, said Mel Lloyd with Upper Colorado River Interagency Fire Management.
Two single-engine air tankers, a helicopter and about 10 firefighters were on scene.
The fires were two of at least nine reported in Colorado on Thursday that burned a total of 1,289 acres. The seven others were immediately contained, Helmerick said.
