Wildfire burns inches away from Bent’s Old Fort National Historic Site

LA JUNTA, Co. (KRDO) - Two wildfires miles apart have been burning in southeastern Colorado since Tuesday. Bent’s Old Fort is a National Historic Site in Otero County and found itself right in the path of the flames.

Tuesday started as a normal day for the workers at Bent’s Old Fort, but then strong winds pushed the Fort right into the path of a quickly growing grass fire.

“All of a sudden at 8 o’clock at night, the winds changed and it blew towards the Fort," said Alicia Lafever, Interpretation Manager for Bent’s Old Fort. "I’ve been told that the flames were taller than the walls of the Fort and they could be seen from inside the Fort."

The flames came inches away from the Fort, only stopping because multiple fire agencies came to the rescue.

"There were a lot of crews and we’re very, very thankful to them, not only locally, but some crews coming as far away as Montrose," said Lafever.

Workers were also desperate to save the dozens of animals that call Bent's Fort home.

“Some of the animals were brought in by some of our crews inside the corrals in the back, inside the Fort's adobe walls," said Lafever. "They’re all safe and all fine."

Officials say the Fort sits on 800 acres of land, and 75 percent of that land was scorched in the fire.

With the winds picking back up Wednesday, firefighters remained on scene in case of any dangerous flare ups.

“We’re predicting for several days the park will be closed for public safety," said Lafever.

This isn’t the first close call for Bent’s Old Fort. A similar fire scorched the land around it about 20 years ago, but thanks to quick-acting firefighters, the historic site remains standing even after two massive fires.

Some of the trees in the forest around the Fort still had burn scars from the fire 20 years ago. Because of that, many of them will be too weak from this week's fire and will have to be cut down.