Coal fire at Black Thunder lasts 12 hours

Coal fire at Black Thunder lasts 12 hours

Gillette WY,USA
October 2, 2007

A coal fire at Black Thunder mine that started Monday afternoon kept firefighters from Gillette and Wright busy for more than 12 hours and into Tuesday morning.

Crews were sent to the mine, operated by Thunder Basin Coal Co., and owned by St. Louis-based Arch Coal, after a fire in the south coal bin, or “coal barn,” was reported at 2:44 p.m., according to a Fire Department news release.

The incident resulted in a minor injury to a Black Thunder worker, but details were unavailable, the release stated.
Fire Department personnel worked through the night, returning to their stations late this morning for rest. On Tuesday, fire crews were just beginning to leave the mine at 8 a.m., said acting Fire Chief Rich Hauber.
Calls to spokesmen based at Black Thunder and Arch’s St. Louis headquarters were not returned by deadline Tuesday.