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Smoking hole appears off of Redcliff trail.

Mar 18, 2019 | 5:42 PM

 

Redcliff, AB — Did you know that there’s been a fire burning underneath some walking and biking trails of Redcliff for decades?

“It’s been burning for somewhere in the neighbourhood of 60-70 years,” said Wade Gleisner, Fire Chief for the Redcliff Fire Department.

The fire started in an abandoned coal mine located by the river valley. The mine was abandoned over 120 years ago.

Last week, a hole appeared just off the “Slow Burn” path that had smoke coming out of it.

“Periodically it’ll burn through the surface. It’ll follow the coal seams and it’ll burn through to the surface,” said Gleisner.

The fire department sees two or three holes like this every year. They can last anywhere from a couple months to a full season. “Usually they will die out and a new one will come up somewhere else,” said Gleisner.

“The biggest worry for me is that there’s no way to determine the size or the area under the ground that’s burning, all we get to see is what actually breaks the surface,” said Gleisner.

If you see a hole like this, Gleisner says to keep a safe distance from it and to report it to the town of Redcliff so they can assess if it needs barricades.

“There’s not any danger as long as (pedestrians) give it a wide distance,” said Gleisner.