Miners had been seeking improved working conditions, as they were at high risk. Discover current, past, and potential mining activity around the globe on The Diggings—the largest free online resource of mining activity.

Some succeeded in surviving the fire, others were found days later, dead from the inhalation of the poisonous gases, or from oxygen deprivation. Yet, in such tragedies, there are also heroes. This marked the beginning of almost five continual years of martial as miners and mining companies squared off in a fight for the soul of The Gibraltar of Labor.

As part of a fire safety system, the mining company was installing an electric cable into the Granite Mountain mine. As the days passed the number of survivors dwindled and searchers began the arduous task of recovering the dead. In the course of the mine’s operation, between 1887 and 1944, “the Spec” reaches 3,700 feet deep.

At the Speculator-Granite Mountain Mine, 410 men work the night shift on June 8, 1917. The gas was everywhere. Another of eight was found alive, though two of these died within a few hours of being rescued from the mine. While “the Spec” boasts the first electric hoist installed on “the Hill” in 1914,* not everything in the mine has been electrified. A.nav:link {COLOR: #ffffff; TEXT-DECORATION: none; padding: 3px;}

A century later, the Granite Mountain Memorial stands in tribute to the men lost in the Granite Mountain-Speculator Fire as well as other Butte men lost in the course of mining Butte’s copper deposits. .navigation1 {FONT-SIZE: 12px; COLOR: #FFFFFF; FONT-FAMILY: helvetica, arial;}.

While Moore died shortly before rescue on Monday, June 11 at 9:AM, six of his men survive thanks to his leadership.

The fire quickly climbed the cable, and turned the shaft into a chimney, igniting the timbers in the shaft and consuming oxygen in the mines.

Copper demand during WWI spures Butte’s copper mines to operate at full capacity, day and night. The cable fell in an area approximately 2,500 ft (800 m) below the surface and was damaged.

Townspeople turned out in droves to help in whatever way possible. The support beams and timbers were soon ignited, and the shafts of Granite Mountain and the connected Speculator filled with smoke, toxic gases, and flames.

A.nav:visited {COLOR: #ffffff; TEXT-DECORATION: none}

June 8, 2017

The Yarnell Hill Fire is the sixth-deadliest American firefighter disaster in history and the deadliest wildfire ever in the state of Arizona, and until 2014, the wildfire was the most-publicized event in wildland firefighting history.

Copper mining boomed in Butte with the outbreak of war in France. .navigation1 {FONT-SIZE: 12px; COLOR: #FFFFFF; FONT-FAMILY: helvetica, arial;}. Carbide lamps are still in common use.