The Bureau of Land Management has closed off a mine shaft that collapsed in Silver City.
The shaft opened up without warning in the old mining town, which sits 50 miles southwest of Boise. The sinkhole was near a park and a campground and was considered a safety risk.
After neighbors reported the 25-foot-deep sinkhole, the BLM filled it in with boulders and gravel. When the weather warms up, officials will inspect the hole and make sure it’s stable.
The BLM says along with sinkholes, abandoned mines can release dangerous levels of carbon dioxide or contain old explosives.
“With tens of thousands of abandoned mine lands throughout the west, we really want people to understand how dangerous they can be,” said BLM Abandoned Mine Lands Specialist Carrie Wontorcik. “When it comes to abandoned mines, we tell everybody to stay out, stay alive.”
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