Abandoned Mine Discovered At Calaveras Park
San Andreas, CA– An interesting discovery was made recently at San Andreas Community Park.
The ground of the baseball diamond began to sink as children played on the field. Park caretakers were notified and it was soon discovered that a 7 foot by 6 foot hole covered by a large boulder had opened up. The hole is thought to be a mine shaft 200 feet deep with a false bottom 14 feet down.
“Fortunatley nobody was hurt”, said Derek Chernow, Acting Director of the California Department of Conservation. ” The county did absolutely the right thing by contacting the state’s Office of Mine Reclamation. The state’s Office of Mine Reclamation participated today in the plugging of the abandoned mine.”
Chernow was at today’s plugging of the mine event along with Office of Mine Reclamation /Abandoned Mine Lands Unit Manger Steve Jenkins to discuss the threat to public safety posed by abandoned mines. Calaveras County Supervisor Gary Tofanelli was also on hand to discuss the incident.
Chernow said there are other deep mine shafts in the area and urges anyone who thinks they may have discovered an abandoned mine to call the Office of Mine Reclamation/Abadoned Mine Lands Unit 1-877-OLDMINE.
Written by tina.falco@mlode.com
