Crew to begin mitigation of second underground mine fire near Boulder County [Video]

BOULDER COUNTY, Colo. — State crews wrapped up the mitigation project on the Lewis Mine Fire in April ahead of schedule, and the Colorado Division of Reclamation, Mining, and Safety (DRMS) is looking to tackle the Marshall Coal mine fire next.

These two sites started garnering a great deal of attention following the devastating Marshall Fire that killed two people in 2021 and burned 1,000 homes and businesses.

Officials don’t believe these underground mine fire sites contributed to the fire. Instead, the Boulder County sheriff said, it was likely caused by a downed Xcel power line and embers from an earlier fire buried on private property.

Since the historic Marshall Fire, monitoring at the site hasn’t shown any changes in temperature or surface expression.

That’s why the mitigation project at the Lewis Mine Fire took place first. DRMS crews said there was increased mine fire activity, surface fracturing and cracking and higher surface temperatures.

Efforts at the Lewis Mine Fire didn’t impact Boulder County or the city’s open space, but they could affect …