Looking around at what was the center of
town you find all that is left. A maintained park bench,
crumbling sidewalks, abandoned steps to what was once a home.
Up above the home to the left smoke rises
from the ground. The fire is below.
This newly installed monitor is labeled BAMR,
which stands for Bureau of Abandoned Mine Reclamation.
Its located about 50 feet off of Rt. 61 and yet right above
where the fire burns below.
Above and below, the paved roadway towards the largest
visible area of destruction.
Above, a crack in the ground indicating that
the ground is subsiding due to the coal burning away below.
Above smoke rises about 100 feet from the cemetery.
Several monitor pipes can be found in this
area.
The proximity to occupied homes and the
smoldering hillside can be seen in these photos.
These photos show some close up views of high concentrations
of deposits left by the fumes and gases escaping the cracks
the the ground. This area was very hot and the gases in
the air made it hard to breath.
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