Soudan, MN (Northland's Newscenter) - Until the source of the fire is found however, they will not be certain.
Park officials and incident command officials met today to discuss the fire's impact on the mine.
Those were some of the very first thoughts from workers at the Soudan Underground Mine when a fire broke out near the bottom of the mine shaft last Thursday night.
While local fire departments responded immediately, expertise in fighting a mine shaft fire came from all the way from South Dakota.
"Literally, they had a team ready to dispatch, load in an airplane that was arranged by our folks here, and they would have been here within 6 hours to deploy underground," said Jim Essig, park manager of the Soudan Underground Mine State Park.
Water and foam, introduced at the surface, were found to be the keys to containing the fire.
Crews are now at the 27th level, working to clear the foam that helped save the mine.
Some of the earliest concerns had to do with potential damage to the physics lab at the bottom of the mine shaft, however park and lab officials say those fears have been lessened now that crews have been able to make is down there.
"We have not been into the lab yet. It may still be even a few days; we don't know how it will be before we get a chance to look in there," said Bill Miller, supervisor at the Soudan Underground Lab.
Power to the lab shut off automatically when the fire was first detected.
Although sealed off from the mine, water coming in due to non–working sump pumps caused fears of flooding in the more than $50 million lab.
Initial communication with personnel near the lab say things should be alright.
"We're not concerned about the lab. We're concerned about making sure the infrastructure of the mine is safe and good and once we get all of that in working order, then we will worry about getting power to the lab," said Miller.
Some of the pumps were up and running over the weekend, further reducing the threat of flooding.
"Now we have to get pumps running on the 27th level, get rid of the water there before it gets to the level where it could potentially start flooding," said Essig.
For a situation with a very dark beginning, workers are now able to see the light at the end of the tunnel.
Park officials are still unsure of when the park will re-open.
Visitors are encouraged to continue to check the park website to monitor an opening date.
Text Alerts
Twitter
Facebook