Crews have successfully extinguished underground fires that were burning for more than a decade, and possibly much longer, in abandoned coal mines near Gallup.
The Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department announced on Monday that its Mining and Minerals Division had extinguished the fires that were emitting toxic gasses and posing a potential threat to infrastructure projects.
The mines in question are the abandoned Enterprise-Brown and Navajo No. 1 mines, which were operated in the late 1800s and early 1900s.
The lands where the mines are located belong to the Gallup Land Partners, which owns about 26,000 acres near Gallup and is focused on developing these lands in a way that promotes economic growth. That includes residential projects as well as commercial development.
The Mining and Minerals Division’s Abandoned Mine Land staff worked with Gallup Land Partners as well as the engineering firm Tetra Tech Consulting and Runyan Construction to mitigate the fires.
Officials do not know for sure how long the fires have been burning. Both were discovered in 2011; however, it is possible that at least one of the fires may have ignited more than a century ago.
In 1891, a fire broke out near the Navajo No. 1 Mine. That blaze resulted in the mine being closed and sealed in 1905. The Mining and Minerals Division is not certain if the fire that led to the mine being closed in the early 20th century was the one still burning and discovered in 2011 when staff were conducting an inventory of abandoned coal mines. The records do not indicate whether sealing the mine extinguished the fire in 1905.
The Mining and Minerals Division monitored the two fires for several years after crews discovered them in 2011. After receiving funding from the federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, or Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the state began work to extinguish the blazes. This law set aside nearly $11.3 billion to clean up and remediate abandoned mines. Of that $11.3 billion, New Mexico was allocated $2.5 million annually for 15 years to clean up abandoned mines. The fire mitigation cost about $385,000.
The Enterprise-Brown fire was burning toward the Navajo-Gallup Water Supply Line and could possibly have impacted that important infrastructure project had it not been extinguished.
“This project is another example of the outstanding work MMD does to mitigate the potential harm abandoned mine spaces can have on our environment,” EMNRD Secretary Designate Melanie Kenderdine said in a press release. “Tackling these underground coal fires is especially important because they have the potential to spark wildfires in addition to other damage.”
While the Enterprise-Brown fire could have impacted the Navajo-Gallup Water Supply pipeline project, the Navajo No. 1 fire has been releasing toxic gasses into the atmosphere near several residential communities and in an area where a developer hopes to create a recreation area for hikers and campers.
“Mitigating these fires was a priority for us,” MMD Director Albert Chang said in a press release. “With the landowner and city of Gallup proposing additional recreational trails in the area, the conditions will be safer for recreationists, in addition to eliminating the risk to water infrastructure.”
The U.S. Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement says there are at least 98 underground mine fires in nine states, though that number is likely an underestimate.
These fires can burn for decades and this can contribute to poor air quality in surrounding areas.
“It was nice to be a part of this team working to accomplish this mission of putting out these fires,” AML Program Manager Leeland Murray said in a press release. “They had been burning for many years and we are proud to finally have them extinguished.”