Recent US reports show abandoned mines could be lurking under homes. What about Utah?

SALT LAKE CITY — Concern is growing around the country after an ABC News investigation revealed many homes around the U.S. have been built above or near abandoned mines.

This underground network of mines has led to sinkholes, some of which have damaged infrastructure and homes. Some have even turned deadly.

Utah is home to thousands of mines in its underground network. The state's mining history dates back to the 1850's, with some of the most popular minerals being coal, copper, silver and uranium. And over the years, thousands of mines have been left abandoned across the Beehive State.

In fact, Jan Morse with the Utah Division of Oil, Gas & Mining says there are abandoned mines in every county in Utah.

But Morse said the risk of sinkholes forming near homes in Utah is highly unlikely, because most of the state's mines were dug out from canyon locations.

"It's very far underground," Morse said. "In Utah, because of our geology, the mines are usually not near where people live."

Morse said she's only seen one sinkhole form near someone's home since the state began actively looking for and sealing off access to abandoned mines in 1983. That was in 2008 when a sinkhole opened up at the corner of someone's home in Coalville.

Morse said there are some shallow coal mines there, and they filled that area with concrete grout to avoid any more problems.

Morse is the assistant manager for Utah's Abandoned Mine Reclamation Program. Since 1983, they have sealed off about 7,000 openings to abandoned mines around the state. But today, there are still an estimated 10,000 openings that still need to be addressed.

"(We) try to eliminate those hazards so that people don't get hurt," Morse said. "That's why we're doing what we do."

Morse said the main hazard when it comes to abandoned mines in Utah is unseen openings.

"The things we see are like someone driving an ATV or a motorcycle and they're driving over an area where they don't know what's there," Morse said. "If you ... drive up a steep hill, there might be a hole at the top."

Morse said the best way to avoid stumbling upon an unknown mine opening is to be aware of your surroundings and keep your eyes peeled. She also said people can find maps of mining districts online, and researching the area ahead of time could prevent people from running into problems.

"You just need to be aware," Morse said. "If it looks suspicious, treat it as something suspicious."

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