Coal mine fire burning for 50 Years finally being mitigated

In the State of Colorado there are an estimated 38 abandoned coal mines which have underground fires burning. One such fire has been burning beneath a popular hiking trail for years.

Epic Earth testing coal mine surface with FLIR Thermal Camera.Photo byEpic Earth YouTube

According to an article from August 2023, the State of Colorado has rolled out plans to extinguish the underground Lewis Coal Mine fire that has been burning underground for more than 50 years in Northern Colorado.

As of February 2024, that mitigation has started. They have excavated under the surface and have identified a pocket of smoldering coal. They have removed a small area that had temperatures between 400°F and 500°F. Hopefully this will help mitigate the fire danger in the area.

Before Mitigation

Several months before the mitigation, Epic Earth wanted to see how hot the coal mine fire was from the surface. They pulled out a FLIR Thermal Camera to test the surface temperature. From the surface of the trailhead of Marshall Mesa Open Space, they detected up to 104 °F . See video below.

Do you think they are doing enough? Let us know in the comments.

More information:

• DRMS Lewis Mine Fire Mitigation Project
• CBS News
• 9News
• Fire Fighter Nation

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