A mine fire is a fire that starts in a coal mine. Mine fires burn underground. Mine fires can burn for months or years. Because they are underground, they are extremely difficult and costly to put out. To fight mine fires, government intervention is almost always required.
Most mine fires begin as a result of an industrial accident, generally involving a gas explosion. Historially, some mine fires were started when a bootleg mine was blown up by authorities. Many recent mine fires have started from people burning trash in a landfill that was in close proximity to abandoned coal mines.
The most famous mine fire in the United States is in Centralia, Pennsylvania. It has been burning since 1962.
Other mine fires in the United States burning today include a fire in Vanderbilt, Pennsylvania.
In 2004, China ended a mine fire at Liuhuanggou colliery, near Urumqi in Xinjiang province . It had been burning since 1874.
