WHITE HALL, W.Va. — An ongoing fire in an abandoned coal mine in Marion County has forced some from their homes and is now threatening some businesses, according to a state lawmaker.
In May 2025, the state Department of Environmental Protection said it had been monitoring an underground fire in the White Hall area twice a week for about a year.
Delegate Guy Ward, R-Marion, said the properties are located below the mine, and the DEP had vegetation removed in the summer of 2025 and planned to build a retaining wall. The work was not completed, and the summer of 2026 set records for rainfall, causing the hillside to begin to slide. The slide is now up to the front walk and the garage door and beginning to cause damage to at least one business.
The waterline to one of the homes has been damaged and the electric line serving all of the homes has also been damaged, Ward said.
“The slide is now encroaching into one of the buildings below and pushing the wall,” Ward said. “There are probably four businesses down there affected and four homes.”
Ward said it might be too late to fix the problem. Bids for a project to stabilize the hill will be opened Oct. 8, and the project is expected to take 90 days. Because the hill seems to be less stable as more rain falls, Ward isn’t sure there’s enough time to fix the problem and save the property.
“It’s not getting any better, and it will be October 8 before the bids are opened, then it will be 90 days to get things fixed,” Ward said. “I don’t know, but I think we’re running out of time.”
During the pre-bid meeting for the work, Ward said the engineer said the removal of vegetation from the hill had nothing to do with the slide. That’s one point in the process Ward takes issue with.
“One of the engineers from the company that did the engineering for the project said those trees they took out had nothing to do with the landslide, and that’s not true,” Ward said.
There is at least one family with a child and an elderly lady that will be offered alternative housing by the DEP, according to Ward. Considering the advance knowledge the DEP had about the project, Ward partially blames the damage on a lack of timely action.
“He did say they would give them some temporary accommodations until the project was over, and I’m glad of that,” Ward said. “I never had anything bad to say about the DEP, but this time they did drop the ball.”
The mine is more than 100 years old, and the origins are not known. The fire can’t be extinguished, but it can be controlled by digging down and placing dirt on the edges.
In the summer of 2025, Valley Volunteer Fire Department applied more than 1,000 gallons of water and five gallons of foam in an area behind Winston Tire and Wheels after a report of smoke. Within 30 minutes officials said black smoke started to plume from the opening in the ground, Ward said.
“They put earth in front of all that, but it’s still smoldering back there underground, and every once in a while it will raise its ugly head,” Ward said. “There will be a crack in the ground and you’ll see smoke come out of there.”
A statement from the DEP said the matter is under litigation and their comments would be limited, but bids for the project will be opened Oct. 8 and the notice to proceed will be issued on the same day. Rapidly changing conditions at the site required multiple redesigns, but this project is expected to fix the slide problem. Additionally, the DEP will provide housing assistance to residents affected.