FAIRCHANCE, Pa. — A fire in an abandoned mine in Fairchance, Fayette County has been extinguished, and the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection said crews should be finished with their restoration work by the end of the week.
“Thank God. Thank God they got it out,” one neighbor told Channel 11′s Andrew Havranek.
Neighbors were worried the fire was going to continue to grow and burn out of control, eventually going under North Morgantown Road toward the old Kyle Mine.
“That’s where it would have went,” that neighbor told Havranek.
“Could there have been a big problem?” Havranek asked.
“Yes. Big time. Big time problem,” the neighbor responded.
The DEP told Channel 11 they found out about the fire burning in an abandoned mine in Fairchance on January 6. But, they believe the fire had been burning since September and had gone unreported.
On January 17, they awarded an emergency contract to put out the fire.
The mayor tells Channel 11 crews dug somewhere between 15 to 25 feet down into the ground to put it out.
“When they dug it up, they took all the coal, there was a lot of coal in there,” Mayor Thomas Tanner said. “They dug it out and it was on fire. Smoking, more or less.”
The DEP said the effort to dig, put the fire out, back fill the abandoned mine, and then plant grass and cover the ground with straw cost just less than $27,000.
That money comes from the state’s Abandoned Mine Reclamation Program, which gets some of its funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law that was passed during the Biden Administration.
Those who live near that fire, and the mayor, are glad it was put out as quickly as it was.
“They did a good job, man,” a neighbor said. “I’m proud of them.”
“They did a fantastic job,” Tanner added. “The inspector did a good job inspecting it, and filled everything back in, they did a good job.”
The DEP urges Pennsylvanians to report any mine subsidence, fires, or any environmental issues to the department by calling 866-255-5158, or by going to https://www.pa.gov/agencies/dep/report-incidents-and-complaints.html
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