The Utah Division of Oil, Gas and Mining (DOGM) announced that last week, crews sealed seven additional openings that were feeding air to the Kenilworth Mine Fire.
This resulted in a significant reduction of smoke, which is now down to about one-third of its previous volume. With these improvements, the DOGM stated that safety personnel deemed it safe to. begin work on the west bench area, where the main smoke vent is located.
“Work in this area started on Tuesday with the placement of foam in the main vent. Once it is sealed, work will move to other openings on the west bench. We are optimistic that these efforts will eliminate the smoke for the foreseeable future,” said Jan Morse, DOGM Environmental Scientist.
While conducting work on the portals located over the ridge to the east of the main smoke event, heat at the portal seals were discovered by crews. This indicated fire in this area of the mine and there is likely to be unstable ground, as well as dangerous gases, wherever the fire continues to burn.
For safety, the DOGM urges that residents continue to avoid the area. They plan to investigate the site next spring to characterize the extent of the fire and to identify further mitigation strategies.
Any changes in fire activity should be reported to Morse at (385) 799-0028 or janmorse@utah.gov.