Marion County family says home in White Hall is unlivable after mine fire triggers land slide

WHITE HALL, W.Va (WDTV) - A Marion County family says a decades-old underground mine fire has triggered a fast-moving land slide at their home on Nellie Lane in White Hall, leaving them unable to access the property.

Mine fire broke through surface a year ago

About a year ago, an underground mine fire broke through the surface at the bottom of a hillside in White Hall. Crews clear-cut the hillside to fight the fire. The fire is mostly handled now, but the ground never recovered.

“The clear cutting of the hillside seemed to help the mine fire situation, but it sure didn’t help the ground stability,” said Jarrod Petersavage, the homeowner’s son. “We quickly started seeing slight shifts in things. The asphalt started pulling away from the garage, all pretty slow. But in the past couple of weeks, we’ve noticed a rapid acceleration with the ground sliding.”

Jarrod Petersavage said there was a four-day period about a week and a half ago when the ground went from level to a drop of about three and a half feet.

“My mother here and the neighbors over there were pretty petrified that their houses were going to go over the hill any minute,” he said. “But, you know, fortunately for us, mother nature has slowed down on the rain a little bit.”

The hillside is moving at a rate of hours and days and has grown into a crater within two weeks. Two residents say they have no ability to get to their home because of the situation.

According to Jarrod Petersavage, the slide is threatening the residence at 20 Nellie Lane, the only driveway and access to the house, a leaning electric service pole, gas, water and sewer infrastructure, and the garage, walkway and porch areas next to the home.

Homeowner describes impact

One of the homes belongs to Virginia Petersavage, who bought the property hoping to retire there.

“My son just worked very diligently over the last, I’m going to say, two and a half to three years of renovating this so that I would have a nice place to live in,” Virginia Petersavage said. “And then when this all started, it was like so scary.”

Virginia Petersavage said her belongings are in storage and she is staying with friends.

“I’m just too old to have to deal with this,” she said. “I cried for two whole days. I’m out of tears anymore. I’m not sleeping. I’m eating improperly. I’ve lost 20 pounds in three weeks. My life is totally upended.”

She said the home’s interior renovations are complete. “The outside may not look fantastic, but the inside is absolutely beautiful,” she said. “But do I have a life? No.”

Virginia Petersavage said her nerves have made it difficult to concentrate and that she does not know what will happen from day to day. She said she hopes someone recognizes the severity of the situation and helps resolve it.

Jarrod Petersavage said his mother will need to find a permanent residence, and if no agency compensates her for the losses, she may need to take out a mortgage and return to work. He said his mother worked as a nurse and recently suffered a broken wrist after a patient pushed her, and that a mortgage would complicate her plans to stop working.

“I would love to see these government entities get together, stop pointing the finger about whose problem it really is, and just solve the darn problem,” Jarrod Petersavage said. “I’d like to see them support these two families to find a different place to live, temporarily if it be, fix the problem, and get them back in their houses.”

He said both affected families have also offered the option of the state buying the properties outright. “Nobody’s been willing to even talk about any of these solutions for the most part,” he said.

DEP timeline shortened, but no short-term fix

The family said the Department of Environmental Protection originally estimated a five-week timeline to fix the slide. After pressure from Delegate Guy Ward, the timeline has moved to two-and-a-half to three weeks.

According to Jarrod Petersavage, personnel with the DEP’s Abandoned Mine Lands program have inspected the property and said the situation is being handled through the agency’s emergency process. He said he has spoken directly with AML engineer Jeremy Ayers and AML Deputy Director Travis Parsons.

Jarrod Petersavage said AML has directed E.L. Robinson Engineering to prioritize the design of a retaining wall separate from the larger mine-fire mitigation project. He said there is still no firm timeline for construction of the retaining wall and no short-term stabilization solution while the ground continues to move.

He said Marion County Emergency Management, local officials and affected utilities have also been notified, and several entities have visited the property.

The family said the DEP has refused to help relocate the families or buy the properties outright, leaving them to cover the cost of temporary housing on their own.

DEP responds

The West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection provided a statement after the story aired.

The agency said it has been working for over a year to address the underground mine fire in White Hall. WVDEP and its engineering consultant developed a conceptual reclamation plan that includes excavating the abandoned mine workings and long-term stabilization of the area, but completing that work requires access to several nearby properties.

According to the agency, property access has been the primary obstacle to advancing the larger reclamation project. WVDEP said some affected property owners have either refused to grant rights-of-entry or have requested specific conditions before allowing access, and the agency has worked with those owners to resolve the issues voluntarily, including modifying the proposed reclamation approach. WVDEP said it has been unable to obtain all necessary access on terms that would allow the project to be completed safely and effectively.

Last year, WVDEP said it obtained limited rights-of-entry that allowed it to proceed with the first phase of the project, which included removing trees and vegetation from the hillside and addressing visible venting locations. The agency said the vegetation was removed to eliminate potential fuel for the underground mine fire because of concerns the fire could ignite the trees and further endanger nearby residents and businesses. WVDEP said Phase 1 was always intended as an interim measure while the agency continued working toward the broader reclamation project.

The agency said its Abandoned Mine Lands program has requested technical assistance from the federal Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement and will now use its statutory authority to obtain the access necessary to move the project forward.

WVDEP said its engineering consultant has continued finalizing plans and specifications to address the hazards, and that conditions at the site have changed three times during that process, requiring additional redesigns. The agency said a recent landslide has created another complicating factor that must now be incorporated into the design.

Based on current site conditions, WVDEP said the design being finalized will include closely spaced steel piling to create a temporary retaining wall and stabilize the affected area. The agency said it anticipates putting the construction work out for bid within the next several weeks.

WVDEP said it remains committed to moving the project forward as safely and quickly as possible.

For now, Virginia Petersavage remains locked out of the home she bought to retire in, as the ground beneath it continues to shift.

Editor’s note: The video for this story will be added once it airs. Please check back for the updated video.