There are traces of gold found in the human hair and organs, also in cows and other land animals. There are three Geological Survey publications authored by Robert S. Jones which discuss the gold found in the earth's crust, meteorites, rocks, and minerals. Forest fires are the fires we saw on the news all last summer and fall. You can learn about the past and current information about forest fires in Kentucky or any other State and Canada. Then, there are fires you don't see.
Fires can start in operating mines for a variety of reasons.
In 1971 there were about 200 fires along virgin coal outcrops and in abandoned underground mines in 16 of the 36 coal-bearing states. Underground fires can be from 30 to 300 feet below the surface. Some are easy to detect and put out, and some are not. At some time, between 1991 when the Perfect Storm occurred, and 1997 when the novel was published, Sebastian Jung read the weather report about an unusual weather occurrence, a Perfect Storm. Jung thought that would be a good story and book title.