Las Conchas Fire has scorched more than half of Bandelier National Monument.

Fire officials estimate the blaze so far has burned through about 18,000 of the park's 33,000 acres. About half of the park's 3,000 archaeological sites — which include everything from pot shards to the underground chambers known as kivas — were touched by the flames, according to Rod Torrez, the park's chief of interpretation. "But those sites have lived through many fires," he said.

Torrez was at the monument when the fire broke out Sunday afternoon to the west on private land near Valles Caldera National Preserve. "It was ... just a stunning fire," he recalled. "Within an hour, you could see flames at Bandelier. The winds were howling and it's been so dry, it came through really fast."

A parking lot full of visitors was evacuated, and park rangers went to all the trail heads to make sure no one was hiking. Bandelier officials had already closed the backcountry and trails to the public. "So no one was camping and no one was on the trails," Torrez said. "If they were, they were there illegally."

The fire dropped down into Frijoles Canyon on Sunday afternoon headed toward the park's recently renovated visitor center filled with irreplaceable archaeological and artistic treasures. "The fire came within a half mile of the center," he said.

A fire break line cleared by staff and firefighters near Alcove House has held the fire back from the center.

Torrez described the scene: "As soon as knew we knew fire was in Frijoles Canyon, staff went down and wrapped up all the items they could. They were wrapping valuable items in blankets and putting them in cardboard boxes."

There were the paintings by Santa Clara Pueblo artist Pablita Velarde, artifacts and numerous ancestral pottery pieces. A 4-foot-by-8-foot mural depiction of the Zuni migration also was moved.

They borrowed a trailer, laid a mattress on the floor and put the boxes carefully on top. Staff loaded some of the other items in their cars.

"It was amazing," Torrez said. "I was a little afraid to tell people what they had in their cars. But we got everything to a safe, secure place in Santa Fe."

Staff who live in some historic buildings in Frijoles Canyon and had to abandon their belongings during the evacuation have spent an anxious few days wondering if the fire would take it all.

The entire Bandelier staff is scattered, operating out of at least three locations in Santa Fe, Jemez Springs and the park's administration office in the canyon. Six pueblos affiliated with the park have been meeting regularly with staff, fire managers and the federal land agencies to stay updated on the fire.

Torrez said it's hard to know when the park will reopen, especially since the fire is largely uncontained. "It will be days before we can figure that out," Torrez said. "All of our resources are devoted entirely to the fire."

The fire has burned about five miles into Alamo Canyon and Capulin Canyon, burning down a small base camp backcountry cabin. It burned the Ponderosa campground, though Torrez said that when he visited it recently some trees looked like they would survive.

The fire on Wednesday burned only 500 acres in Bandelier, still on the mesa south of Frijoles Canyon. "We're looking at a fire that's still active, and there's still plenty of area that could burn," Torrez said.

"This fire has been so unpredictable. It's almost impossible to make any statement you could absolutely rely on," Torrez said. "When the wind changes, that changes everything."

The key factor in the Las Conchas Fire is the drought. "The fuels out there, whether living or on the ground, are dry, dry, dry," he said. "That's a huge contributing factor to this fire."

Contact Staci Matlock at 986-3055 or smatlock@sfnewmexican.com.