Colorado crews begin wildfire prevention near Meeker

Colorado state crews have begun an emergency wildfire-prevention project near Meeker after an underground coal fire at the historic Black Diamond Mine grew hotter this year. The Colorado Division of Reclamation, Mining and Safety said the fire has burned underground since the 1930s and now poses a greater risk of igniting vegetation above ground. CBS Colorado reported on May 20 that crews recorded temperatures rising from roughly 150 degrees to nearly 800 degrees in some areas. The state said the work is aimed at reducing surface-fire risk, not extinguishing the underground coal fire itself. ### Why are crews working above ground if the fire is underground? Tara Tafi, a senior project manager with the state agency, told CBS Colorado that the work is “more of a surface fire mitigation” effort intended to limit the coal fire’s ability to start a wildfire. The state said recent assessments found elevated surface temperatures, new venting areas and dry vegetation near the site in Rio Blanco County, about one mile northwest of Meeker. (dnr.colorado.gov) The Colorado Division of Reclamation, Mining and Safety said drought has reduced soil cohesion and allowed more oxygen to move through fractured ground, feeding underground combustion. The agency said those conditions, combined with dead and dying trees near venting areas, increased the chance that vegetation could ignite if left in place. (cbsnews.com) ### What changed at the Black Diamond Mine this year? CBS Colorado reported that crews saw temperatures climb from about 150 degrees to about 400 degrees, then to roughly 800 degrees after the site became accessible in March. Tafi said the agency also found an acre-and-a-half of pinyon pines that had died off in the last year or so above the area where the fire was surfacing. (dnr.colorado.gov) The 2024 Mine Fire Inventory, cited by CBS Colorado, identified a new area of activity with multiple high-flow-rate vents along the top edge of a 40-foot cliff. Some of those vents extend into vegetated areas, according to the report cited by CBS. ### What exactly are crews doing near Meeker? The state said the emergency project will remove about 1.5 acres of trees and grasses around the surface expression of the fire to reduce available fuel and create defensible space. (cbsnews.com) Officials also plan to build fire breaks and improve access to the steep terrain above Anderson Gulch, where the site currently can be reached only on foot. (cbsnews.com) DRMS said it is planning a 1.3-mile access route along a historic mine road in Anderson Gulch. The agency said better access would support monitoring, vegetation management and faster emergency response if conditions worsen. ### Why not just put the fire out? Tafi told CBS Colorado that extinguishing an underground coal mine fire is extraordinarily difficult because there is no open shaft where crews can simply pour in water. (dnr.colorado.gov) The state described the Black Diamond fire as a persistent but managed concern that has required monitoring and mitigation over decades. The mine was reopened and backfilled in 1938 before being abandoned, according to the state. Since then, officials have dealt with periodic hot spots while trying to manage the site safely. ### Who is involved, and what comes next? The Colorado Division of Reclamation, Mining and Safety said the project is being coordinated with the U.S. (dnr.colorado.gov) Department of the Interior’s Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, the Bureau of Land Management and the Town of Meeker. CBS Colorado reported that the emergency work was announced earlier this month and is expected to continue through July 2026. May 4 marked the start of field work, according to CBS Colorado, and the state has described the fuels-reduction effort as a first step in a longer-term monitoring and mitigation strategy at the Black Diamond site. (cbsnews.com) (dnr.colorado.gov)