The cost to reduce smoke billowing from a fire burning deep within an abandoned Central Utah coal mine could run over $1 million, and crews can likely never put the fire out.
“We’re going to do everything we can, but we have to acknowledge the reality of how tough these are to put out,” said Steve Fluke, manager of the state’s Abandoned Mine Reclamation Program. “There are fires like this that have been burning for 100 years.”
The state has been monitoring this fire within the Kenilworth Coal Mine, located in the Book Cliffs east of Helper, since 2021. Fluke said he received reports of smoke escaping from a vent near the mine in August. The state began investigating the fire and potential actions in September, and in November, the situation was declared an emergency.
(Christopher Cherrington | The Salt Lake Tribune)
The smoke, which contains harmful carbon monoxide and hydrogen sulfide, has dissipated since crews started working on Nov. 27, said Brady Bradford, health officer for the Southeast Utah Health Department. State officials do not believe there is a wildfire risk or a threat to nearby homes.
“As long as people aren’t approaching the area or getting really close, we feel like there’s not a tremendous risk to the public at this time,” Bradford said.
The state is working with Brierley Associates Corp., an architecture and engineering consulting firm headquartered in Denver, and the 5 Seventeen Company, a construction company based in Utah, to curb the smoke.
Fluke said that the state has entered into contracts with each company, with the costs of the work not to exceed $1,053,446. “We wanted to make sure we had adequate money set aside for the worst-case scenario,” he added.
Utah’s Abandoned Mine Reclamation Program is federally funded by the U.S. Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement.
(Utah Division of Oil, Gas and Mining) Smoke from a fire in the abandoned Kenilworth coal mine is seen on Nov. 27, 2024.
The crew is using helicopters to access the remote site and specialized fire-retardant foam to seal holes feeding the underground fire with oxygen, choking off its air supply.
“Those are really costly things,” Fluke said. “It’s pretty expensive to address these fires.”
The fire at the Kenilworth mine isn’t the only one of its kind in Utah. The Utah Division of Oil, Gas and Mining reports that seven others are burning in abandoned coal mines across the state.
Fires can also start naturally in coal seams that haven’t been mined. Coal can spontaneously combust, and wildfires and lightning strikes can cause coal fires.
Correction • 5:40 p.m., Dec. 9, 2024: This story has been updated to correct the spelling of Brierley Associates Corp.
