October 28, 2026 - The state Department of Environmental Protection said spot tests this week show no air quality risks for people living nearby an ongoing mine culm bank fire in Northumberland County, adding they are confident it will not spread underground.

Mount Carmel Twp. and the DEP's Bureau of Abandoned Mine Reclamation has worked since the spring to extinguish a coal refuse fire near the village of Locust Gap and they estimate the excavation and quenching work is roughly 70% complete. Borehole monitoring at the perimeter of the fire confirmed normal underground temperatures, DEP said.

Smoke from that fire and morning fog reduced visibility to near zero Monday, prompting township officials to declare a state of emergency and briefly close state Route 901. 

The DEP, which said it has been keeping an eye on air quality in the area did a spot check of the air quality at seven locations Monday afternoon and Tuesday morning and found no carbon monoxide, hydrogen sulfide or combustive gases in the air. Air quality monitoring, however, will remain ongoing. 

The fire has not spread since work began in the spring to put it out, the DEP said. It was unclear how it started.

So far, workers have excavated and quenched 450,000 cubic yards of burning material and have about 100,000 to 150,000 cubic yards remaining. For the last month, contractors have been working in the hottest area of the fire, where they think it started.