BUTTE — A sinkhole opened up in the middle of East Broadway Street in Uptown Butte earlier this week. Now, fortunately, the county has come and filled it up, but under the ground in Uptown Butte, it’s loaded with tunnels and abandoned mine shafts that can cause sinkholes.
“It’s not a surprise. Our history is underground mining; we have more than 10,000 miles of underground activities under Butte,” said Montana Tech mining professor Sonya Rosenthal.
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Patrick Peck noticed the hole in the street across from his home in the 300 block of Broadway the morning of April 23. He immediately contacted the county.
“I don’t like it too much, you know, it’s dangerous,” said Peck.
Sinkholes sometimes occur in Butte when dirt in back-filled shafts from old mining activity subsides and causes empty spaces.
“And then with just enough rain and activity, and water from the underground workings, the soil collapses. It’s just a bit of nature, a bit of gravity doing its work,” said Rosenthal.
The Bureau of Mining and Geology at Montana Tech has maps of most of the underground tunnels and shafts that expand for more than 10,000 miles. Peck said a few years ago, a sinkhole opened up in his backyard.
“Now that I’ve had one in front of the house and one behind the house, I’m worried about what’s going to happen if the middle decides to go, seeing that my house is sitting on it,” said Peck.
Rosenthal said sinkholes are still rare and people living on the hill shouldn’t worry.
“No, they should not live in panic. Life is good on the hill,” she said.
