onedef92
07-27-2015, 8:22am
Volcano-Like Underground Fire Is Put out After a Month
WOODBURY, N.J. — Jul 24, 2015, 8:26 PM ET
Crews have put out a fire that burned underground in southern New Jersey for a month, melting the ground around it and reaching 1,000 degrees.
Woodbury Mayor Bill Volk tells the Courier-Post that the fire was extinguished Thursday, a month after it started during a severe storm. He says it "looked like a volcano."
It began when a power line snapped, sending electricity into the ground and igniting a mixture of coal and cinder used as the foundation for train tracks in a wooded area.
The mayor says neighbors called authorities when they saw smoke coming from the ground.
Firefighters went to the scene seven times over a month before county and state officials helped put it out.
WOODBURY, N.J. — Jul 24, 2015, 8:26 PM ET
Crews have put out a fire that burned underground in southern New Jersey for a month, melting the ground around it and reaching 1,000 degrees.
Woodbury Mayor Bill Volk tells the Courier-Post that the fire was extinguished Thursday, a month after it started during a severe storm. He says it "looked like a volcano."
It began when a power line snapped, sending electricity into the ground and igniting a mixture of coal and cinder used as the foundation for train tracks in a wooded area.
The mayor says neighbors called authorities when they saw smoke coming from the ground.
Firefighters went to the scene seven times over a month before county and state officials helped put it out.