The Yakima herald. [volume] (North Yakima, W.T. [Wash.]) 1889-1914, 1910-02-02
A BLAZE
81 YEARS old
Battle Against Flames Began
Over Half = Century Ago
Burned SIS, 000. 900 Of the
Coal. .ai.sS lazy

q. PHILADELPHIA. Pa. Feb. L.
After destroying about $4,000, 900
worth OF good anthracite coal, q mine
fire that started fifty-one, years ago
near the village Of Summit Hill, in
northeastern Pennsylvania. has Just
now been checked. = tt., XII,
!, II this latest attempt to stop it had
not been successful. the subterranean
fire would have spread into the Lans-
ford valley and endangered 400. 0O0,-
900 tons OF coal. valued at around
$4,000 100000. f'"' -
It was on Feb. Is, 1859. two years
before the civil war began. that the
blaze was discovered in abandoned
workings in the Mammoth vein. near
the east end of the Summit Hill ba-
sin. For purposes OF fllustra ton. this
basin may be compared to the thumb
OF mans hand. The first started
near the end Of the thumb" which
Is 500 feet wide at its narrowcst and
$500 feet wide at its broadcast point,
and worked its way toward the main
part Of the 'hand." If It once got
there the chance of conquerjng it
would be small.
Half century ago people had not
begun to think much about the pos
sible exhaustion of the anthracite
supply, and the veins were not mined
as thoroughly as now. SO that the
fire found quantities of leftover coal
to feed upon.
Fire Gains Stronger Hold.
As the years passed ana the fire
gained a stronger and stronger hold
the necessity for checking it became
every day more apparent. The con-
sumption of anthracite grew by leaps
and bounds, and the fact that there
was a limit to the hard coal deposits
came to be appreciated The in
creased cost Of mining by deep shafts
made it essential that every ton of
fuel near the surface should be saved.
Almost from the time It was dis
covered Attempts were made to extln-
guish the fire. In the zoos there was
a plan to dig great open cut, with
sloping sides, across It's path. the
theory being that when the fire reach
ed this break in the coal it could 90
no further. The project was found
to be SO expensive, however, that 1t
could not be carried out. Many years
later the attempt was made to fill a
broad area with culm, washed down
through holes bored from the surface
and thus block the course of the fro.
This, too. proved failure; the fire
went straight on past the barrier.
After much study w. A. Lathrop,
president of the Lehigh Coal & Navi-
CATION company, which owns the
property. decided the only way to
stop the fire and prevent the destruc-
ton of millions of tons OF coal was to
build clay barrier across the basin,
extending down to water level III.
barrier would have to g'be approxi-
matelys 800 feet long.
Spaces Filled With Clay.
On the north Of the basin where
the coal comes to the surface, an
open cut was dug downward, a series
Of shafts were sunk, the last in line
to the south being 220 feet deep.
Later it was found that not only
face of the vein. but that the space
between the first four shafts would
have to be filled in with clay.
Fifty thousand cubic, yards of clay
were needed to make the barrier, and
5000 cubic yards Of concrete. Ten
miles of timbers were used in the
shafts and the open cut. all brought
from North Carolina.
In a single one of the holes bored
as a protection to the work $4,000
tons of silt were poured. 1t Is es-
timated that the cost of stopping the
fire-this does not include the unsuc-
cessful attempts of the past---was
$3.50. 900. Aep Eoc