[3] The carbon monoxide concentration of the Carbondale mine fire ranges from nearly 0% to approximately 0.4%.
[2] In the late 1940s and early 1950s, a number of minor unsuccessful attempts were made to stop the fire by flooding the burning mine workings.
In the 1950s, boreholes were dug around the perimeter of the fire and filled with a variety of materials, including sediment and sand.
During the excavation, the fire nearly spread to the east side or downtown part of Carbondale, but was successfully contained.
Around this time, a proposal was made to drain nearby lakes to use those waters to flood the fire, citing a project cost of $100,000.
[3] As of 2000, the site of the Carbondale mine fire was being checked regularly to verify its containment.
[7] The Carbondale mine fire received notoriety in local newspapers in its early years, and excavation attempts of the 1950s and 1960s were covered in the May 1960 issue of Popular Science magazine.
The Saturday Evening Post featured a story on the fire in 1963, saying that the excavation effort was moving more earth than the construction of the Panama Canal.