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iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii <br />999 <br />Possi~le~s'4' <br />fire closes <br />coal mine <br />t3j Robyn Funk <br />9UII WrIYr <br />Nobody was injured or in any danger <br />when Oxbow Mining Inc. officials <br />found high levels of carbon monoxide <br />in the Sanborn Creek Mine and sealed <br />portals on Tuesday, Jan. 26. <br />The high levels of the deadly gas <br />were found in entries to the mine at <br />4:50 p.m. The 49 miners on shift were <br />evacuated by 5:30 p.m. <br />"Nobody saw flames and nobody <br />saw smoke;' said Walt Wright, mine <br />manager. If a fire was started in the <br />mine, it happened by spontaneous com- <br />bustion. <br />The air inside the mine was moni- <br />tored until midnight and at 12:30 a.m. <br />Wednesday, Jan. 27, the decision was <br />made to seal the portals. The mine has <br />four intake portals and one return por- <br />tal. The portals were sealed with dirt or <br />Foam Tech. Another, which had an old <br />fan, was closed, to prevent oxygen from <br />feeding the fire, if there was one. <br />The plans now include drilling a hole <br />Wednesday, Feb. 3, to pour water into <br />Ute mine. <br />"If there are any remnants of the fire, <br />we hope to extinguish it with the <br />water;' Wright said. <br />He hopes by Monday, March I, to <br />begin recovery, or mining, at the facili- <br />ty. Everything Oxbow does to recover <br />the mine must first be approved by the <br />U.S. Mine Safety and Health Adminis- <br />See Mine flrc, Page 3A <br />