Qualla: Crandall Canyon Mine

Crandall Canyon Mine: Introduction

Tue, 27 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Braddah n8, CC0. Bob Murray called it an "evil mountain." In August 2007, the owner of the Crandall Canyon Mine would stand before television cameras and blame an earthquake for the collapse that trapped six miners deep beneath the Wasatch Plateau. He was lying. Federal investigators later proved the seismic event registered on instruments across Utah and Nevada was no natural earthquake at all. It was the mountain itself giving way, triggered by years of aggressive mining practices that had literally hollowed out the coal pillars holding the earth in place.

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Crandall Canyon Mine: The Warning Signs

Tue, 27 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Braddah n8, CC0. The trouble started months before anyone was trapped. On March 10, 2007, a "rock burst" tore through the north barrier pillar, an explosion of pressure that sent coal and rock flying into the excavated tunnels. No one was hurt, but the event should have been a clear warning. Fede...

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Crandall Canyon Mine: Trapped in the Dark

Tue, 27 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Braddah n8, CC0. At 2:48 a.m. on August 6, 2007, the mine collapsed with enough force to register as a magnitude 3.9 seismic event. Six men were working deep inside: Kerry Allred, 58. Luis Hernandez, 23. Brandon Phillips, 24. Carlos Payan, 22. Manuel Sanchez, 41. Don Erickson, 50. Their ages span...

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Crandall Canyon Mine: Tragedy Doubled

Tue, 27 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Braddah n8, CC0. Ten days into the rescue effort, hope still lingered. Teams had cleared rubble toward where the miners might be sheltering, following protocols that trained workers to seek ventilation areas when escape routes fail. Then, at 6:30 p.m. on August 16, the mountain struck again. A tu...

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Crandall Canyon Mine: Accountability Delayed

Tue, 27 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Braddah n8, CC0. In July 2008, the federal government announced the largest fine ever levied for coal mine safety violations: $1.85 million against Genwal Resources, the mine's operator. The engineering consultants who analyzed the mine's design, Agapito Associates, were fined $220,000 for what r...

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Crandall Canyon Mine: Monuments to the Lost

Tue, 27 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Braddah n8, CC0. In Huntington, Utah, a bronze statue rises six feet from the ground. Created by sculptor Karen Jobe Templeton and unveiled on September 18, 2008, "Heroes Among Us" features deep relief portraits of all nine men killed in the August collapses. The height is intentional: visitors m...

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