The Four Faces Fire in the Needles District of Canyonlands National Park demonstrated that wildfires are a significant threat to resources of cultural value associated with Cedar Mesa Sandstone cliffs. Two threatening conditions to cultural resources are carbon blackening and fire-induced exfoliation. At present, evidence on the nature and causes of fire-induced exfoliation of Cedar Mesa Sandstone cliff face structures in upper Salt Creek are not conclusive. However, several reactions may be responsible. Variable expansion-contraction ratios between the parent rock formation and the cliff face surfaces may have become incompatible during the rapid heating. Elevated cliff face temperature cooling may have also caused cliff face exfoliation. Additionally, trapped moisture between the cliff face surface and the parent rock formation may have been converted to steam and steam pressure during the fire, resulting in cliff face fracturing and exfoliation. Although this paper addresses observations and hypotheses regarding fire effects on Cedar Mesa Sandstone, other geologic formations may respond in a similar fashion endangering associative sites of cultural value. Management agencies will, we hope, address cliff face exfoliation possibilities in future fire test programs to determine causes of this phenomenon and develop effective policies to ensure the protection of associative, nonrenewable cultural resources. -- AATA