Va. Department of Energy says coal refuse fire is out

CHESTERFIELD, Va. (WWBT) - The Virginia Department of Energy says a coal refuse fire in the Winterpock area has been extinguished.

The fire was first reported on March 8 after Chesterfield Fire and EMS said several calls came in about a smell in the area. The Virginia Department of Energy’s Abandoned Mine Land team declared this an emergency, and a contractor was hired.

AJS Excavation Inc. put out the fire on Wednesday and spent Thursday encapsulating the coal refuse pile with a fine stone, according to a news release.

“Additional erosion control measures were also left in place to protect any of the surrounding water sources,” the release said.

Tarah Kesterson with the Virginia Department of Energy said last week that the coal refuse pile is a result of mining from the late 1870′s.

“These things have been around for a very long time. This pile well over 100 years,” said Kesterson. ”In the late 1800′s, when this pile was incurred, you didn’t have the technology to separate rock from coal like you do now when you’re mining to get that coal out.”

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