1942 — Jan 27, Wadge Coal Mine gas explosion (electric arc), Mount Harris, CO — 34
Compiled by Wayne Blanchard; last edit 7-5-2024 for upload to: http://www.usdeadlyevents.com/
–34 Cole, Jesse, Mine Safety and Health Administration. “History of MSHA,” slide 40.
–34 Edwardsville Intelligencer (IL). “Chronology of the Year 1942,” Dec 31, 1943, p. 8.
–34 National Fire Protection Assoc. Spreadsheet on Large Loss of Life Fires (as of Feb 2003).
–34 National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, CDC. Mine Disasters.
–34 Neton. “History in Focus: Mount Harris and The Wadge Mine. craigdailypress.com. 12-9-2022.
–34 Pulaski Southwest Times, VA. “Mine Blast Snuffs Out Lives of 34.” 1-27-1942. In USMRA
–34 U.S. Mine Rescue Assn. Mine Disasters in the United States. “Victor-American Fuel…”
–34 Valora. “Commemorating the Wadge Mine Explosion – January 27, 1943. Haydenmuseum.
Narrative Information
Jan 27: “Mount Harris, Colo., (AP) — Thirty-four miners perished in an explosion in the Victor American Fuel Company coal mine late last night. Only four men escaped alive.
“Blackdamp, deadly carbon dioxide gas, filled the shaft after the blast and impeded the work of rescue crews, unable to reach the victims for nearly six hours.
“Bill Fickle, one of the men rescued, said the four heard a “dull thud from way back in the hole. In a second we smelled smoke and ran for the air shaft.”
“Thirty volunteer workers set up an improvised morgue at Liberty Hall, the old opera house at Mount Harris, to receive the bodies after they are brought to the snow-covered surface.
“Nearly every family in this small mining community 200 miles northwest of Denver had relatives employed in the mine.
“Mine Superintendent Henry Johnson said the 34 men were trapped about 5,500 feet inside the tunnel of the mine, which slopes at an angle of about 10 degrees into Mount Harris.
“The four who escaped were working nearer the entrance. They heard the blast and fled.
“Rescue crews fought the suffocating gas with huge blowers, forcing air into the mine and sucking the fumes out.
“The miners’ families rushed to the pit from their homes in the surrounding towns of Craig, Hayden and Steamboat Springs, but were advised to return to their homes.
“Ambulances and hearses were called from all surrounding towns, and State Mine Inspector Thomas Allen left for the scene from Denver immediately.
“The four who were rescued alive were Joe Gall, Bill Fickle, Elmer Everson and Mike Atansoff.
“Victims of the Wadge Mine Explosion at Mt. Harris:
Antonio Adame, 42, Mt. Harris
Plutaco Adame, 45, Mt. Harris
Charles Baker, 37, Craig
Leo Beck, 43, Steamboat Springs
H. Truman Been, 37, Mt. Harris
Fred W. Blount, 50, Mt. Harris
Max Bustos, 65, Mr. Harris
Ralph Cable, 30, Hayden
Ross Cable, 35, Hayden
Raymond Cable, 38, Hayden
S. Pete Cretonne, 51, Mt. Harris
Don Ford, 25, Craig
Jack Gasperich, 42, Craig
Phillip Gonzalez, 50, Mt. Harris
Joe A. Goodrich, 40, Craig
Harvey Hardin, 46, Mt. Harris
H. H. Hartman, 47, Mt. Harris
Elmer Hindman, 40 Hayden
E. Ken Hockman, 32, Mt. Harris
Joe Martinek, 55, Mt. Harris
Tom McKnight, 54, Mt. Harris
Harrison G. Moore, 29, Mt. Harris
Robert Nance, 46, Mt. Harris
Harry Oliver, 55, Mt. Harris
Raymond Pope, 21, Craig
George Searles, 40, Mt. Harris
Joe Sertic, 50, Mt. Harris
Frank Sheperd, 33, Craig
Tony Skufca, 39, Mt. Harris
Timoth Trujillo, 26, Mt. Harris
Arthur Van Cleave, 34, Steamboat Springs
Adrian Vriezema, 21, Mt. Harris
Charles Vukoman, 49, Mt. Harris
George H. Ward, 44, Steamboat Springs”
(Pulaski Southwest Times, VA. “Mine Blast Snuffs Out Lives of 34.” 1-27-1942. Transcribed in USMRA, and accessed 3-12-2017.)
Dec 31: “Colorado’s worst coal mine disaster in 25 years occurred at Mount Harris when mile underground explosion snuffs out 34 miners’ lives.” (Edwardsville Intelligencer, 12-31-1943, 8)
Valora. “Commemorating the Wadge Mine Explosion – January 27, 1943. Haydenmuseum:
“….The official cause of the explosion on record, was an explosion of gas caused by arc-electric machinery which was being used to help clear gas. While killing 34 men, the explosion did not do a lot of damage to the actual mine shafts. Just a few short weeks later, crews were busy reestablishing communications and running power back to the pumps and other equipment in preparation to reopen the mine….”
Sources
Cole, Jesse P. (MSHA District 4 Manager). “History of MSHA,” Leadership Intensive Course Mine Safety and Health Administration. No date. 48 slides. Accessed 1-11-2009 at: http://www.usmra.com/repository/category/mining/modified_History_of_MSHA.ppt#256,1
Edwardsville Intelligencer, IL. “Chronology of the Year 1942,” Dec 31, 1942, p. 8. Accessed at: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=1665978
National Fire Protection Association. Spreadsheet on Large Loss of Life Fires (as of Feb 2003). (Email attachment to B. W. Blanchard from Jacob Ratliff, NFPA Archivist/Taxonomy Librarian, 7-8-2013.)
National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Mining Safety and Health Research.. Mining Disasters (Incidents with 5 or more Fatalities). NIOSH, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2-26-2013 update. Accessed at: http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/mining/statistics/disall.htm
and http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/mining/statistics/content/allminingdisasters.html
Neton, James. “History in Focus: Mount Harris and The Wadge Mine. craigdailypress.com. 12-9-2022. Accessed 7-5 -2024 at:
History in Focus: Mount Harris and The Wadge Mine
United States Mine Rescue Association. Mine Disasters in the United States. “Victor-American Fuel Company, Wadge Mine Explosion. Accessed 3-12-2017 at: http://usminedisasters.com/saxsewell/wadge_news_only.htm
Valora. “Commemorating the Wadge Mine Explosion – January 27, 1943. Haydenmuseum. Accessed 7-5-2024 at: https://www.haydenheritagecenter.org/post/commemorating-the-wadge-mine-explosion-january-27-1942