Across the Mother Lode are hundreds of mines — some still undiscovered.\u00a0About 12 mines in Eldorado National Forest may be compromised.<\/p>\n
By Vicki Gonzalez — The U.S. Forest Service is working on abandoned mines that have become safety hazards as a result of the Trailhead Fire.<\/p>\n
“This is our time with the stuff burned away we can see things like these mine shafts, and typically we’ll discover new ones after a fire,” said Kristi Schroeder with the Forest Service in El Dorado County.<\/p>\n
Upwards of a dozen mines in the Eldorado National Forest are believed to be compromised due to the Trailhead Fire.<\/p>\n
“People are used to us for the active part of the wildfire. They don’t see the after part,” Schroeder said. “We send in a BAER team, a Burned Area Emergency Response team, right at the end of the fire or after the fire is contained.”<\/p>\n
The U.S. Forest Service BAER team is specially trained in mines.<\/p>\n
“The ingenuity. How these guys did what they did back in the day when nothing was even mechanized,” said Mary Rosellen, the regional abandoned mines facilitator.<\/p>\n
Rosellen has been working with mines with the U.S. Forest Service for 25 years.<\/p>\n
“Just as a kid, working for the Forest Service. Started cleaning out mines and it just progressed from there,” Rosellen said.<\/p>\n
On Wednesday, the BAER team focused on an abandoned mine near an urban area outside Georgetown. A vertical shaft was created to connect to an underground cavity spanning more than 200 feet, to continue an airflow for the bats and other animals that live in the mine.<\/p>\n
“That’s what’s dangerous out here are the vertical shafts,” Schroeder said. “Because you can just step in them and they can be small or they can be big.”<\/p>\n
As a result of the Trailhead Fire, the ground eroded and caved in, destroying the shaft and creating a large gaping hole to be filled.<\/p>\n
“We are really focused on public safety. You know we are not going to go in and backfill all of these mines. Right now these are abandoned mines. No one has a claim on them. No one is interested in them,” Schroeder said. “Can you imagine a couple of teenagers out here, ‘Oh, here is a cool hole in the ground let me explore it,’ and something happens and they can’t get out. Nobody knows they are here.”<\/p>\n
The BAER team excavated the vertical shaft, then using a liquid foam to create a strong foundation before back-hoeing the hole full of dirt.<\/p>\n
The foam is similar to a household repair for cracks. It consists of separate chemicals, when combined, react to expand and solidify into a sturdy substance with a shelf life of 100 years, according to the U.S. Forest Service.<\/p>\n
“We have hunting season coming up. There’s going to be a lot of people running around in the woods. And they are going to be off the trails and off the roads,” said Schroeder. “So here is a case in point. We don’t know where all of these are. So be very careful of where you are walking and where you are stepping.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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