Courtesy: Utah Geological Survey
KANE COUNTY, Utah (KTVX) – The west has seen a rash of wildfires in recent years. Some caused by nature, others caused by humans. But geologists say one fire likely started by spontaneous combustion in Utah has been burning for decades and is showing no signs of dying out. If that’s not intriguing enough, the blaze is burning underground.
In Kane County, a blazing hot area located north of western Lake Powell is dotted with heat-related places. Warm Creek, Burning Hills, Smoky Hollow, Blackburn Canyon, and Smoky Mountain are a few of the, ahem, hotspots.
According to Utah Geological Survey (UGS) research conducted by Marshall Robinson, these place names actually signify underlying heat sources that have nothing to do with the air temperature.
Smoky Mountain itself has actually been burning hot for hundreds, and maybe even thousands of years.
Courtesy: Utah Geological Survey An actual fire beneath your feet: This underground fire is known by geologists as the “Big Smokey Fire,” the Utah Geological Survey shares. It is burning, or at least smoldering, underground. Large fissures, or cracks in the ground feed oxygen to this underground fire allowing it to continue to burn all these years.
“Expectations may be high to see the gaseous fumes from this fire venting from the cracks, but realize this is only possible when temperatures are near or below freezing,” as stated on the Utah Geological Survey’s website.
Even when you can see the smoke or fumes, you can see a scene similar to a volcanic area, such as Yellowstone National Park.
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