Jeanesville mine fire still months from being out
Supervisor
"We have no jurisdiction in this," he said at Monday night's supervisors meeting. "The state and federal governments have taken charge of it. They're working as fast as seven government agencies can work together. They're here almost every day. Some nights they are here between 10 at night and 3 in the morning.
"I'd like to say it's going to be out tomorrow. It's going to be months yet. When they come up with a plan of attack, they will announce it. They can't just go in helter-skelter and put it out. They have to have a plan."
Clark said environmental officials are nearing completion of drilling 53 holes to assess how bad the fire is.
"Once the 53 holes are dug, the information will be acted upon and a plan to put the fire out will be devised at that time," Clark said. "They said drilling will take almost two months, and they have been there since May. They must be getting close, because they wanted to wait until the last minute to go into the hot area with the bats, with the hope that a lot of them would just take off."
Clark said drilling now has reached that area.
"I don't know how many bats took off," he said. "That's also where the hottest portions of the fire are. I think that's one of the reasons the smell has been a little bit stronger. The area where the fire company got called to one Sunday is where they are now. I don't know how many holes they have drilled, or how many they have left."
Clark and Supervisor
"These new devices are more sensitive detectors of the gases that were being used," Clark said. "It's a smaller unit, and measures smaller quantities of gases present. They were there last Sunday afternoon, and they were here today (Monday) monitoring the areas they normally monitor. The results will not be available until the end of the week."
Porpiglia said the strong odor is what caused the more sensitive equipment to be brought in.
"The new equipment measures in parts per billion, instead of parts per million," he said. "With a strong odor, you're still going to have a real low reading, in parts per billion. That's how they explained it to us. They said there is no danger in it. You've got to believe them at this point. It's just that the smell is uncomfortable."
Clark said the weather plays a role in smelling the fire.
"The weather, the rain, has something to do with the smell," Clark said. "The fact that they are working in that active area does, too. Friday morning, after the torrential rain, you couldn't see through Jeanesville at
Former supervisor
"Nobody has a concrete answer," Porpiglia said. "I don't believe it's going to affect us. Has your property insurance gone up? Mine hasn't."
Clark echoed similar sentiments.
"Being that they are actively working on the fire, I don't think it will affect us," Clark said.
Both the supervisors and residents praised the work of the state
"They have been polite when I call," said former supervisor
Shott also complained about the smell.
"You can close your windows, but it doesn't matter," she said. "It comes in through the cracks. They want you to call because the levels could go up."
Porpiglia said DEP would like everyone who calls to keep a log of the times they call and when the smell is the worst.
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