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Beaz Coal Mine Vicinity Underground Fire At the request of the Coal Regulatory Program, I visited the Beaz Coal Mine property, located immediately south east of the town of Somerset in Gunnison County. The visit occurred on October 27, 2003, and began at approximately 12:00 pm. Correspondence received from the Coal Program indicated that personnel at a neazby mine had seen smoke or steam venting from the vicinity of the Beaz Mine, and that Coal Program personnel had smelled combusting coal during inspections of the site. To facilitate my evaluation of the site, a digital image was provided. -The image depicted the approximate locations of the Beaz Number 3 alit; .C Seam outcrop, Edwazds C Seam adit, and Edwards B seam adit. A number of reclaimed benches or roads traverse the side of a steep hill located south of an abandoned building. The benches aze interrupted to the west by a landslide mass. My inspection of the site began along the middle, or intermediate, bench. An azea that appeared to be an old mine entry, presumably the Edwazds B seam adit, was observed. Numerous structural remnants were found in this area. The shape of the ground in this location, combined with the structural remnants suggested that this was an abandoned and collapsed mine entry, presumably the Edwazds B seam entry. A hand held infrared thermometer did not detect temperatures above ambient conditions at or near this location. The azea located uphill of this collapse was also evaluated, but no indication of elevated temperatures was observed. Aground water discharge was observed slightly west and downhill of this,presumably collapsed adit location. It is assumed that this is an abandoned mine discharge. No other ground water discharges were observed throughout the area. Worlaxig uphill and toward the east on portions of the road /bench system not disturbed by the landslide, the smell of combusting coal became appazent on the upper-most road / bench. Evaluation of the azea revealed a vent (Feature 1) located at approximately 38° 55' 35"; 107° 27' 47". This vent is in the shape of a circular fracture pattern that measures approximately six to eight feet in diameter. The fracture itself is narrow, generally less than an inch wide, and never wider than two inches. The depth of the fracture is unknown. Ground surface temperatures around the~erimeter of the fracture were measured at 100° on the east side, 350° on the south, 300 at the west side and 200° at the north side. The feature appears to be located in an area of backfill or possibly in relatively thick coiluvial material. However, the feature appeazs to be on-strike with the trend of the upper bench backfill. Although venting fractures are common at inactive mine sites that have underground fires, I have never observed a venting fracture that forms a continuous circulaz pattern. The pattern suggests that this area maybe susceptible to a vertical or near vertical subsidence failure in the future.