Mine Bombing

[Spork]

The DOGM has grated hundreds of privately owned claims, usually in cahorts with the owners but often by using fear tactics. There are very few large mines in the Eureka area proper that are not still privately owned or sit on patented land.

From the SLTrib Article:

"Officers are investigating possible felony charges against those who made the gasoline bombs in addition to trespassing charges."

Looks like they may slap them with trespassing too!

I don't see the point of the charges. You got 3rd degree burns, going to spend months recovering, and after all that we're going to give you a nice felony conviction for explosives and charge them with trespassing to keep them from doing it again? Makes wandering into an oil-gas leasing auction and making a bunch of bogus winning bids look like J-walking.

 

[cruiseroutfit]

I don't see the point of the charges. You got 3rd degree burns, going to spend months recovering, and after all that we're going to give you a nice felony conviction for explosives and charge them with trespassing to keep them from doing it again? Makes wandering into an oil-gas leasing auction and making a bunch of bogus winning bids look like J-walking.

Again, they were BYU students, common sense didn't prevail... they still thought it was a great idea to make a human BBQ with their favorite dorm mates

I'm assuming not all of the culprits were hurt and regardless they were all trespassing. The law doesn't have a provision for eliminating the consequences based on the injuries your stupidity sustained, otherwise drunk drivers would just wreck their car into a tree when they were getting pulled over

 

[sixstringsteve]

... they still thought it was a great idea to make a human BBQ with their favorite dorm mates

I think we've all been guilty of this one before as well

 

[Caleb]

I don't see the point of the charges. You got 3rd degree burns, going to spend months recovering, and after all that we're going to give you a nice felony conviction for explosives and charge them with trespassing to keep them from doing it again? Makes wandering into an oil-gas leasing auction and making a bunch of bogus winning bids look like J-walking.

Based on that, a suicide bomber should be praised since they lost their life. The injuries will just remind them how stupid they were, the charges will remind everyone in the future (employers) how stupid they were.

I know most college student are pretty dumb, but IMO, BYU students are dumber and more naive than most.

 

[Zombieblaster]

I'll bite....

I've *heard* of this being done this before, probably at the very place these kids did it. It's one of those things --- don't do it responsibly and you end up getting hurt. Do it responsibly and you can have a cool experience. Like fireworks -- but way more dangerous.

*In theory* you could save up sobe bottles and other things like 'em and take them out with you. *I've heard* big glass pickle jars are especially fun.

Pro tip: keep the main gas source FAR AWAY from the area where you are lighting them (common sense ain't so common). Think of a sobe bottle full of gas dropped into a seemingly bottomless hole. Is it really enough to blow up and hurt you? Nope. Not even close. (Side note: one of the ksl articles I read notes that you can get methane pockets down in the mines. That could be a really bad deal if you hit one of those... even with a sobe bottle)

Here's the problem: If a sobe bottle full of gas is cool, what about 50 sobe bottles? Or some sort of giant container? Bigger boom = bigger awesome, but it also adds to the danger. These kids obviously took it a bit too far.

 

[Kiel]

If people were doing this on barren rock crawling trails, I could see many peoples opinions changing. Instead its just mines, who cares right?

 

[Herzog]

If people were doing this on barren rock crawling trails, I could see many peoples opinions changing. Instead its just mines, who cares right?

Kinda what I was thinking, considering there are groups who enjoy visiting and exploring old mines in the same way that we enjoy and explore trails. This type of behavior gets their mines closed and reclaimed faster.

 

[Skylinerider]

If people were doing this on barren rock crawling trails, I could see many peoples opinions changing. Instead its just mines, who cares right?

My opinion was based on the article I read. Abandoned mine shaft grated over by the DOGM. It's already been "closed".
With the new info that it is not "abandoned" and is a current claim, my opinion does change, it's tresspassing, and they should be responsible for damage done, if any.
I like to explore mines just like most folks here.

 

[Kiel]

My opinion was based on the article I read. Abandoned mine shaft grated over by the DOGM. It's already been "closed".
With the new info that it is not "abandoned" and is a current claim, my opinion does change, it's tresspassing, and they should be responsible for damage done, if any.
I like to explore mines just like most folks here.

Your fine, I understood your comment Curt. I just bet that there would be a lot of sorry OHV users out there if they closed down any trail/road that was ever used for mining access or to a mine itself in the state. I have spent over 150 hours this year alone underground.

 

[Ogre Palowakski]

I know most college student are pretty dumb, but IMO, BYU students are dumber and more naive than most.

Certainly more naive

 

[muddyjeep]

It's too bad people got hurt, but I guess ya can't fix stupid! I'm glad a they didn't start a forest fire!