Petition is seeking to keep mines open in Carbon, Emery counties

PRICE — The fallout from 170 mine layoffs continued to rain down on Emery and Carbon counties Tuesday as the shock of unemployment began to sink in.

Some have started to blame Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. for the closure of Tower Mine, which is owned by Bob Murray. Murray independently chose to temporarily close Tower Mine for his own safety inspections. But some have said the governor is partly to blame for the financial strain on miners who lost their jobs Sunday because Huntsman recently formed the Utah Mine Safety Commission to monitor Utah's mines.

An online petition to keep the mines of Carbon and Emery counties open received 113 signatures Tuesday night from some who are angry with the seemingly political eye that has been turned to the counties' mines.

"The recent tragedy at Crandall Canyon Mine has opened the eyes of the world to our great community," the petition says. "However, we are now faced with the reality that our mining industry may be terminated due to Congress, politicians and others who feel that they are looking out for our best interests. Contrary to their beliefs, we feel that our coal mining industry is safe and should continue to operate."

Miner Gabriel Hunt, who volunteered as a rescue worker in the Crandall Canyon Mine and transferred to another Utah mine when the layoffs were announced, agrees with the petition.

"Before Aug. 9, state and federal politicians were not overly concerned about deep mining in eastern Utah," Hunt said in a statement to the Deseret Morning News. "Now everything has changed and hoards of coal miners from our communities are getting laid off.... The last thing that a coal miner wants to do is put his life and his family's livelihood at risk. We know there are risks associated with coal mining, but we, in good conscience, wouldn't be in there if we thought those risks were overly unsafe."

The petition, which has no name attached to it, asks local leaders to keep their communities alive. The mayors of Helper, Huntington and Price are one step ahead of the petition, however, and say they are already thinking of how their communities will be impacted and how they can help.

Price Mayor Joe Piccolo said his city might be willing to help miners with utility bills while they are laid off, as the city currently does with members of the armed forces who serve a tour of duty.