Historic landmark reopens

SANTA CLARA PUEBLO, N.M. (KRQE) - The Las Conchas fire destroyed thousands of acres, but also consumed hundreds of years of Native American history in its path.

The Santa Clara Pueblo people spent the rest of the summer keeping their uncharred land free of flash flooding.

Now, more signs that life at the pueblo is getting back to normal with the reopening of the Puye Cliff Dwellings.

The historic landmark was untouched as the Las Conchas fire was put out just one mile away.

After four months, the Santa Clara Pueblo is back giving tours and teaching visitors about the old ruins.

"How did they have to get their water?" asks a grandmother visiting with her grandchildren.

Tourists visit the Puye Cliffs to hear the stories of the Pueblo Indians.

Stories, passed down from generations, share how difficult it was living inside the caves.

Nestled in the steep rock, the Pueblo Indians were secure from outside threats.

One-thousand years later, the cliffs were protected again. This time from the Las Conchas fire.

"We saw 200 to 300-foot flames from our village and this Puye was used as an outlook for the forestry and hand crews who were working the fire," said Operations Manager Lucretia Williams.

Williams also gives tours to visitors around her people's land.

16-thousand acres of the Santa Clara Pueblo Reservation were devoured in the massive Las Conchas fire that destroyed dozens of homes and at one point, threatened the town of Los Alamos.

The flames finally stopped about a mile away from the cliff dwellings.

Then came the flash flooding.

"Sacred sites that have been a part of our community, a part of our history similar to sites like Puye were washed away in the flooding," said Williams.

In the end, the dwellings were spared.

The first weekend in four months that tourists got to see the ruins up close, brought in 75 guests.

And they weren't disappointed. Those who came from across the country say the scenery, blew them away.

"It's like landing in a completely different world," said a tourist visiting from Ohio.

The Operations Manager says the cliffs average about 60 visitors a day during the cliff's peak tourist summer season.

The cliff dwellings are open to tours seven days a week, weather permitting.