A collapsed drain pipe from an abandoned coal mine is threatening to force the demolition of a Red Lodge home, according to a new report from the Montana Department of Environmental Quality.
The DEQ's 87-page document concludes that a drain pipe from the Sunset Mine — which closed in 1932 — collapsed beneath the home.
Watch Red Lodge threatened home here:
Officials say the house may need to be torn down to install a new drainage system.
The problem began two years ago when water from the abandoned mine started flooding homeowner J.A. Byerly's garage at a rate of 100 gallons a minute.
"Do the math from Fourth of July till yesterday when they got it stopped. That's roughly 3.5 million gallons of water," Byerly said in 2024.
A sump pump was installed as a temporary solution to divert the water.
The flooding has since stopped, but the underlying problem remains.
A family is currently living in the upstairs unit of the home.
The flooding has made the basement unlivable.
Neighbor Zachary Guzman said his family also had water enter the basement, but escaped serious damage.
"We have a cellar down there, so I didn't get anything wet or anything like that, so, we got a couple of inches down there. So we were saved," Guzman said.
While the DEQ says the house needs to be torn down, the state does not own the home. The decision ultimately rests with Byerly.
Byerly talked with MTN in 2024, days after the flooding began.
"What do you do? You, you can't go stuff rags in the cracks, you know, where that water's going to go someplace," Byerly said.
Byerly could not be reached for comment on the DEQ's latest findings.
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