It has been said that Angel Fire is “named for the fiery afternoon light splashed on alpine peaks”. The legend behind the name is that the Moache Utes used to gather to renew their ancestral ties with the Great Spirit, and during one of these autumnal celebrations, during the 1780s, three young braves returned to camp from a hunting trip and told of a strange glow at the tip of a peak called Agua Fria. The Utes were a little unsettled as they gazed at this mysterious splash of orange and red flickering in the northern sky. Then the awed silence was broken when one of the elders exclaimed, “it is an omen -the fire of the gods- blessing our annual celebration.” Thereafter, whenever that rosy glow was seen it was called “fire of the gods”. When Franciscan friars were trying to spread their influence, Agua Fria’s “fire of the gods” became known as “the place of the fire of the angels”. Kit Carson said that he too had seen the angel fire at dawn and at dusk, especially in the fall and winter months. He said it was because of the sunlight hitting the icy frost on the branches of the trees.