Most of these fires were caused by bad mining practices combined with bad weather.
That is the main reason even environmentalists agree that returning to old underground mining practices makes sense.
In the United States, mine reclamation is a regular part of modern mining practices.
They changed their mining practices, but that was far from enough.
Besides having no sewage system there is significant contamination with mercury due to the mining practices.
In addition, nearby mining practices are known to have bad stream side management zones and problems with roadside construction.
The mining practices of the time caused considerable environmental degradation.
"In my opinion," he said, "there were bad mining practices."
A third would delay regulations aimed at curbing irresponsible mining practices.
But, in 1911, a non-fatal collapse of the mine due to "poor mining practices" ended the nearly 30-year run.