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Show SIXTY YEARS AGO THIS FIRE STARTED AND IT STILL BURNS ' (Cop; right. 1918. by Public Luiscr Co.1 , , ,v iSl HSul Where your winter coal is "heating all outdoors" and threatening to sweep through one of the richest coal regions of the world. A fortune awaits the man who can smother the flames pany constructed cross sections to make an estimate of the amount of coal remaining on the anticlinal and on the south dip of the Summit Hill workings, west of the clay-fire barrier. The vein averages fifty-five feet thick and dips twenty -one degrees south. Such an excavation averaged ninety feet in depth with four feet of clay and eighty -six feet of sandstone overburden. In this way all coal could be removed down to the level of the water at the west end. By so doing the danger of the fire getting into the Lansford basin may be removed. One hundred feet of stratum had been left between the face of the stripping and the clay barrier, and this was broken and cracked from old mining activities. In August, 1915, steam was discovered coming out of on the west side of the barrier and commenced com-menced flushing the old workings adjoining the clay barrier wjth culm, thus increasing the width of the fire barrier. The temperature tempera-ture in the holes was found to range from S5 to 240 degrees; Mining on the west third level was suspended sus-pended October 11, 1915, and water wa turned into the drill holes the same day. Weir measurements were taken every hour to ascertain the increased flow of water. The average flow into the mine was 1100 gallons per minute. After thirty-nine days of flooding operations opera-tions were resumed in the west third level. As another precaution to prevent the fire's spread, a tunnel is being iriven from the west water level, Buck Mountain vein. t jljis " ;,: 1$ 'fA ' Sfl ' Where your winter coal is "heating ail outdoors" and vnreatesiing to sweep through 6 of the richest coal ft WS&:-f'-:3 WSSLmW regions of the world. A fortune awaits the man who can smother the flames - ''''i'jSk 7 IPvk WlilEiJl fiV pany constructed cross sections to make an on the west side of the barrier and com- U Jffljjs Jr 1 ? Vfc ii estimate of the amount of coal remaining on menced flushing the old workings adjoining, MivmF' La Xvfl IfiBrlr SO, 1 the anticlinal and on the south dip of the the clay barrier wjth culm, thus increasing P.l Pf ' I m&Br '""" Jf'A Summit Hill workings, west of the clay -fire the width of the fire barrier. The tempera - &f fes V iy &a I j&f ' ( "SN' $ barrier. The vein averages fifty -five feet ture in the holes was found to range from W gl A Ills f Jpvv - X thick and dips twenty-one degrees south. 85 to 240 degrees; li W&$k jKRl fljfPT mdf . Such an excavation averaged ninety feet Mining on the west third level was sus- ll '$53 ffv&f?- !$L JKmF If ' in depth with four feet of clay and eighty- pended October 11, 1915, and water was K Wri m I"'-' 'SKl Ibjfsi ''IK.i six feet of sandstone overburden. In this turned into the drill holes the same day. S tea m VjmBhSm S-V way all coal could be removed down to the Weir measurements were taken every hour Fl fepfljy JMr 1 ""''! Vt- level of the water at the west end. By so to asoertain the increased flow of water. If SSsvi.k VSnr ' doing the danger of the fire getting into Tbe average flow into the mine was 1160 y '"'-Cv 4SSSlSF' jSsgr& It: the Lansford basin may be removed. gallons per minute. h ytP JraSgrlv . Ml One hundred feet of stratum had been left ' Ut(,r u,irtv-nine davs of Hooding opera - 1 fWk yHraN - !:" i'."(:U 'andthif waVbtokead crLked tions were resumed in the west third level. Tfe W JWW . . ' from old mining activities. In August, fire.g spread, a tunnel is being Iriven from ONE E"ebrnary morning in 1859 a miner euteriug Slope No. 1 of the Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company's mine stopped to ; warm his chilled lingers at a fire burning it ,' a heap of rubbish. That fire is still burning, burn-ing, throwing off heat enough to warm well, U's hard to say just how many cities like Philadelphia, ninety-seven miles away, or New York. 129 miles distant, that fire would comfortably hqgt. Between Summit Hill, one o the oldest towns of Carbon county, and Coaldale, the monster is steadily eating ton after ton of fuel; gorging itself ou coal coal for which almost everybody is clamoring. Engineers, generations of them, have fought the fire pud it breathed its sulphurous breath into their faces, probably chuckled a little and went on devouring coal. Any one who can throttle this rapacious fire may spend the rest of his days, if he feels so inclined, saying. say-ing. "How much is it?" and drawing checks for the amount, for the Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company certainly does want that fire put out and the stockholders arc willing to pay roundly for the services of the successful fireman. MANY schemes to check the fire have been tried, and the latest is simplicity itself; that is, on paper. It is just taking the fuel away from the fire by means of a tunnel which will cut through the vein being consumed. con-sumed. When the fire arrives at the tunnel there will, naturally, be no coal, and no coal, no fire. That's really all there is to it, but some of the best engineering talent in the world is busy on that tunnel, which is considered con-sidered one of the most gigantic undertakings of its kind. Strange it is that the world's greatest mine fire should break out in the very locality in which coal was discovered and in the first coal mine to be opened. Near the site where coal was discovered the Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company, which developed the coal field in Carbon county Slope No. 1, was sunk In the year 1S4T on the south side of the Mammoth vein, which was fifty feet thick and dipping at an angle of twenty -five degrees. Officials of the coal company insist the fire, which was discovered February 5, 1859, was of incendiary origin. In the year 1860 it was decided to make I en open cut at a point 3500 feet west of No 1 slope from the surface between Sum- II mit Hill and Lansford, down to the lowest level of No. 2 slope workings. This slope bad been sunk by the company in 1S50 on the south dip of the Mammoth vein, where " the coal measured fifty-five feet in thickness and had a dip of twenty -one degrees. It was finally extended to the sixth level. The company in 1861 sought to drive an open cut into the blazing main. Eight thousand thou-sand dollars was expended on the work. In the following year $13,000 was expended; in 1S63, $1S,500 ; in 1864, $16,000, and in 1865, $22,000 spent. The company was not in the financial condition to continue this cut and it was abandoned in 1865. In 1866 the fire was apparently making on progress. Watchmen were employed day and night to report any new outbreak. In fact tbe five seemed to make no progress Westward from 1S67 to 1895, the officials reported, and in 186T a thorough underground under-ground examinatiou of the fire at the old No. 1 slope was made and it was reported , that to all appearanaces it was dying out. e . In 1SS3 what is known as the Davies slope' was sunk by George M. Davies. In - 1895 the east gangway of this slope was citended to a point where it broke into a lire that had been smoldering in the old workings for years. The extension of this gangway gave vent to the fire and it commenced com-menced to spread rapidly. The gangways and headings were immediately closed to shut off the air and steps were taken to confine the fire zone. Pumping machinery was erected at the mouth of No. 9 tunnel, the nearest available point where water in ; sufficient quantity could be obtained, and two lines of column pipe ten and twelve inches in diameter, 5700 feet long, were laid to drill holes that had been made directly I over the fire. The pump could no- be used 1 until December, owing to a prevailing drought. Culm was shipped from the Hauto Washery and flushed into the burning area through the drill holes. In 1895 a plan was adopted to fill the north outcrop full of culm, a process which . Is goiug on in tb anthracite towns today to fill up the space occupied by the miilionr, and perhaps billions of tons of coal taken out. This flushing of culm was intended tu shut off the air and make a fire barrier of culm. . The officials of the company were chagrined cha-grined in 1900 to find that, during the sum- mer, the fire was gaining headway and was spreading rapidly to the west. As the appliances ap-pliances for furnishing water to wash the culm into the burning mine were inade-' inade-' quale, it was ('ecided to provide another pump o( larger capacity and it was installe.l t at the mouth of No. 9 tunnel. During tht. $ winter months the culm often froze in transit from the collieries to the drill holes, making 0 ! it difficult to unload from the cars, and to ,iD overcome this trouble two plants had to he i! erected for the purpose of providing hot i water to thaw the culm. In 1901 fifty- & - seven six-inch holes were drilled a com-J com-J ftified lengtB of 6114 feet1 and 01.000 tons of it "nlm -"Hushed into the old workings. Th . j following year twenty-two were drilled and V ' in 1903 fifty-eight six-inch holes were li drilled and 2S.0OO tons of culm flushed into the burning area. Drilling arid flushing con -riwirl until 190R. when 750 boles had been ... i .!... nf nf rnm flusl,crt Into the burning mass. This line of drill " holes was 250 feet east of the old open cut. Th is barrier of culm failed to stop the fire's dp -nvat. for in 1908 smoke and steam onured out of the open cut. Another 'jc examination of No. 2 sloop was made and It if was found that the fire had advanced to within 100 feet of the slope. , Everything ingenuity could devise was hroucht into p'av aeainst the subterranean is' monster. The officials of the company at the Coaldale Colliery No. 0. in the Lansford w basin, had the No. 9 water-level tunnel ex- M trmded west around the nose of the anticlinal gji into the Sunimit Hill basin, and the east e gangway from No. 11 Foster's water-level timnol hrt bfen PTtenrled st jml onnneoto with No. 0 west gangway. These gangways were at the elevation of 1008, and the overflow over-flow of water from the Summit Hill basin passed out through them. This was part of the open-cut plan to isolate the fire, started in 190S, and was virtually finished by December. De-cember. 1909. at an expenditure of 8470,000. MTn n-ns pnir found rircn flin t.i thtt, westward along' the south outcrop. A railroad rail-road was constructed into tie outcrop and the vein was flushed full of culm for a distance dis-tance of 400 feet to seal it np at this point. But the company felt some other means might be employed to prevent further destruction de-struction of valuable coal, not to speak of the exr"rcP which had nlready sccnmnlstfv; in fighting the greatest and most stubborn of all mine fires. So in November, 1912, the decided to make an open cut on the south outcrop to cut off the fire irf its march toward the Spriagda'.e tunnel workings. It was 1915 before the work of constructing the open cut was completed. It was in the yejir 1.912 that the coal coni- the crevices on the west side of the clay barrier, the temperature ranging from 100 to 150 degrees. It was not thought the fire had found its way across the barrier, but that it was burning fiercely on the east side and the heat had been transmitted through the clay to the west side. As a precaution, the company again resorted to drilling holes. gangway No. 9 colliery, south through th anticlinal to the Summit Hill basin. Tbi tunnel will be driven to the Skidmore vein with thirty feet of sandstone between. And so, while mine officials since tha days of 1859 have longed for the day when they might see the great fire subdued, they have only succeeded in checking it. |
