Truck catches fire at Kennecott mine, prompting evacuation
(Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune) Kennecott tailings can be seen in the distance from the Daybreak neighborhood in this 2014 photo.
The Kennecott copper mine was evacuated Tuesday after a truck caught fire.
No injuries have been reported. An equipment truck about the size of a cement mixer was still burning as of Tuesday evening, said Kyle Bennett, a spokesman for Rio Tinto Kennecott. Bennett didn’t know why the truck ignited about 2:15 p.m. in the lower portion of the mine, but said it was near where workers had been blasting.
All workers were moved to evacuation points and are accounted for, Bennett said. Shifts have been canceled until the truck burns itself out, and mine operators also have notified their regulators, he said.
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