Earlier this week, small-town Arkansas made national news. Nearly 10-ft. tall flames erupting from a small hole in the ground have caused a bit of chaos in Midway, Arkansas. We're still waiting to hear the official cause but let's look at what's been released so far on this interesting case.
Last Monday morning, the Midway Volunteer Fire Department came out to an unexpected call.
On Sept. 17th, 2018, officials were called out to a resident's yard just off of Highway 5 South in Midway.
A volley-ball sized hole was erupting in flames that continued to burn for 45 minutes after officials arrived.
According to Fire Chief Don Tucker, the flames were 2-ft. wide by about 8-ft. tall. After the flames burned out, the hole was measured at about 3-ft. deep. A worker from Black Hills Energy, Jared Chism, was called out to check for a gas leak.
But it wasn't a gas leak.
Chism noted the lack of gas lines in the vicinity, nor other fossil fuels nearby. A laser heat gauge measured the flame at 1,400° F. The smell of burnt plastic was also recorded at the scene.
Other theories were also ruled out.
Geologists confirmed it couldn't have been a lighting strike. Judge Mickey Pendergrass told news reporters, "We don’t believe that the devil showed up, or the meteorites landed, or the big booms happened."
Arkansans are not-so-patiently waiting to hear what officially caused the strange fire.
Fire Chief Donald Tucker has sent soil samples (including the white residue surrounding the hole) off to be tested but the results aren't in yet. Until then, a plethora of conspiracy theories have been conjured to explain the mystery.
For more details, read the KY3 news article or the report in Kansas' Wichita Eagle.
The YouTube conspiracies have already begun:
The spooky season has barely begun and we're already having a mysterious phenomenon happen. What do you think caused the fire? Share your theories with us in the comments below!
If you're needing a break from the mystery, take one of these fall hikes to get back to some normalcy.
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