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{{Short description|Mine fire in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania}}
{{Infobox event
|image = Laurel Run Road in Laurel Run, PA (4), Sept. 2023.jpg
|caption=Area along Laurel Run Road previously occupied by houses until the 1960s
|title = Laurel Run mine fire
|date = {{start date|1915|12|06}}
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|cause = Lit [[carbide lamp]] ignited coal bed
|reported property damage = Much of the community of Laurel Run destroyed}}
The '''Laurel Run mine fire''' is an underground [[mine fire]] near the communities of [[Laurel Run, Pennsylvania|Laurel Run]] and [[Georgetown, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania|Georgetown]], in [[Luzerne County, Pennsylvania]], in the United States. The fire started burning in 1915 at the [[Red Ash Coal Mine]]. Attempts to control it lasted from 1915 to 1957 and recommenced in 1966.<ref name = "coal fires">{{Citation|editor = Glenn B. Stracher|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=eJU0WOABSWIC
==Start of the fire and early history==
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==Later history==
Over the years, the Laurel Run site became known as 'the burning mountain' because of smoke vented from a number of fissures leading to the abandoned underground works. In September 1962, a number of residents of the nearby community of Laurel Run were forced to abandon their homes due to [[subsidence]] (due to removal{{clarify|date=January 2014}}<!-- miners removed them, or burned away? --> of the mine's pillars in the area) and fumes from the mine fire.<ref name = "coal fires"/><ref name = "underground">{{Citation|author = Abandoned Mine Research, Inc.|url = http://www.undergroundminers.com/laurelrun.html|title = Laurel Run Mine Fire|year = 2005|accessdate = January 30, 2014}}</ref> The pillars were columns of anthracite coal that were left to support the ground above the mine. Legitimate miners would "rob" them through mining when they couldn't otherwise meet their coal quotas, and "outlaw" miners, not affiliated with a given mine, would subsequently rob them as well when the mines were closed. The resulting subsidence at the surface could cause dangerous sink holes. The community at this point became aware of the presence of an uncontrolled mine fire in the area.<ref name = "coal fires"/>
In the early 1960s, the then governor of Pennsylvania [[William Scranton]] and the congressman [[Daniel J. Flood]] arrived at the area of the Laurel Run mine fire and called upon the [[Appalachian Regional Commission]] to aid in containing it.<ref name = "underground"/>
By 1964, local plant life was dying out and residents of Laurel Run were experiencing adverse symptoms such as [[headache]]s. In February 1964, high levels of [[carbon monoxide]] and [[carbon dioxide]] were detected in the area, and mine gases reaching the surface gave off a blue glow at nights.<ref name = "underground"/> On March 19, 1964, the Defense Materials, Manufacturing and Infrastructure Standing Committee announced a [[United States dollar|$]]1,000,000 cleanup project for the Laurel Run area. The state of Pennsylvania contributed $500,000.<ref name = "unseen danger">{{Citation|author = David DeKok|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=erHlOx4WfIgC&dq=%22Laurel+Run+Mine+Fire%22&pg=PA53|title = Unseen Danger: A Tragedy of People, Government, and the Centralia Mine Fire|date = April 1, 2000| publisher=iUniverse |accessdate = January 30, 2014|isbn = 9780595092703}}</ref> In 1965, evacuation of Laurel Run began in earnest, led by the Appalachian Regional Commission.<ref name = "underground"/>
On April 23, 1966, a plan to control the mine fire was put into action.<ref name = "coal fires"/><ref name = "underground"/> A series of [[borehole]]s were dug in the area to determine the scope of the fire. It was found that it had spread under the community of Laurel Run and also to the community of Georgetown. However, in Georgetown, the ground was relatively stable and the fire did not cause problems aboveground.<ref name = "coal fires"/> [[Clay]] and [[sand]] were injected into the boreholes to contain the fire. The containment efforts occupied 800,000 square feet. Amy Randolph of the [[Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection]] estimated that the efforts would cost $4,000,000. This figure was later revised to $9,000,000.<ref name = "underground"/> Meanwhile, the [[United States Department of Housing and Urban Development]] relocated 850 residents who lived over the mine fire. The area of the fire that was below Georgetown was controlled by blocking off the tunnels in the vicinity, robbing it of the necessary oxygen to continue burning.<ref name = "coal fires"/>
In 1973, the containment of the mine fire was stated to be complete, but it continues to burn into the 21st century.<ref name = "coal fires"/><ref name = "underground"/><ref
==In the 21st century==
In 2013, Michael Corgan, a businessman from [[Wilkes-Barre Township, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania|Wilkes-Barre Township]] was granted permission to [[strip mining|strip mine]] 40 acres of land on top of the Laurel Run mine fire, on the condition that the strip mining operations remained at least {{convert|120|ft|m}} above the fire. Strip mining on top of a mine fire had not previously been done, although
The setting of the novel ''Whispers from the Ashes'' is based on the community of Laurel Run in the early 1960s, when the residents were forced to evacuate.<ref>{{Citation|author = Bernadine Elick|publisher =
The Laurel Run mine fire may burn for another century.<ref>{{Citation|url = http://www.earthconservancy.org/html/reclamation.html|title = Reclamation|accessdate = January 30, 2014}}</ref>
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In some areas in the vicinity of the fire, the ground has cracked open. However, the surface temperature is not as hot as the Centralia mine fire.<ref name = "coal fires"/> The mine fire is {{convert|200|ft|m|-1}} to {{convert|300|ft|m|-1}} underground and burns at a temperature of around {{convert|1000|F|C|-1}}.<ref name = "underground"/>
==See also==
*[[Carbondale mine fire]]
*[[Centralia mine fire]]
*[[New Straitsville, Ohio#History|New Straitsville mine fire]]
*[[Vanderbilt, Pennsylvania]]
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[[Category:Coal mining disasters in Pennsylvania]]
[[Category:1915 in Pennsylvania]]
[[Category:History of Luzerne County, Pennsylvania]]
[[Category:1915 fires in the United States]]
[[Category:Persistent natural fires]]
[[Category:1915 mining disasters]]
[[Category:
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