Alabama
For the First Time, Alabama Says Methane ‘Likely’ Caused Fatal Home Explosion Above Coal Mine – Inside Climate News
OAK GROVE, Ala.—For the first time, an Alabama official has said that a fatal March 2024 home explosion above an expanding longwall mine in the central part of the Yellowhammer State was “likely” caused by the ignition of methane, a gas produced in the mining of coal.
The revelation came in a letter from Kathy Love, director of one of the state’s mining oversight agencies, to federal officials who had demanded state regulators act to mitigate the risk of escaping methane in the wake of the March blast that led to the death of Oak Grove resident W.M. Griffice.
Love had refused to release a copy of the letter, but Inside Climate News obtained the document—the state’s only formal response to an unprecedented regulatory action by the federal Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement—through a Freedom of Information Act request of federal officials.
Both state and federal officials had previously avoided attributing the explosion to escaping methane, despite the continued release of the potentially explosive gas at the site of Griffice’s home, which was completely destroyed in the blast. A state fire marshal’s investigation into the explosion had deemed the cause of the blast “undetermined.”
In court documents related to a wrongful death suit filed by Griffice’s family, lawyers for Crimson Oak Grove Resources, the operators of the mine, have denied the private coal company is responsible for the explosion or Griffice’s death. The coal company did not respond to requests for comment on this story.
In the letter dated Jan. 14, Love suggested that the home explosion was a tragedy that could not have been envisioned by the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act , the 1977 federal law governing longwall mining in the United States.
“The Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA) was written to protect the public and environment from hazards created by coal mining,” Love wrote. “And yet in 1977 the authors of the SMCRA regulations could not have envisioned all circumstances that might result in danger to the public. Such was the discovery of an uncapped abandoned well under Mr. Griffice’s home emitting methane gas that likely caused the tragic event of March 8, 2024.”
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An Inside Climate News investigation revealed last year that Alabama residents have complained about the risks of methane explosions above coal mines for decades.
“Currently we are living in fear of gas escaping from the underground mines and causing an explosion or burns,” one Alabamian wrote in a letter to regulators in September 1999. “There have been people killed who were above longwall mines.”
Another coalfield resident, Bobby Snow, put it more colorfully at the time.
“You can go down there and play or go down there and hunt, but don’t smoke or you’ll be standing in your smutty underwear wondering what the heck happened because the methane gas is coming up out the ground,” he told regulators 25 years ago.
Longwall mining involves a large machine shearing swaths of coal hundreds of feet underground, releasing methane gas and leaving vast underground caverns that collapse once mining has moved on. That collapse, experts say, causes subsidence, or the sinking of the land above, a process that often damages surface structures like homes or businesses.
Fissures in the land above the mined area can also provide a path of escape for the methane released during mining. It’s that escaping methane that Griffice’s family claims was the cause of the explosion that left their loved one dead.
Oak Grove Mine has been labelled by experts as one of the “gassiest” in the country.
Specific risks posed by water wells above coal mines have also been on the regulatory radar for years. Federal regulators published a technical manual on how to deal with gassy wells in 2011, well over a decade before Love wrote that such risks were largely unforeseeable. Federal regulators pointed Alabama regulators to the manual, which had already been highlighted by Inside Climate News, in their communications late last year.
December’s so-called “ten-day notice” was the first time in the state’s history that the Alabama Surface Mining Commission, charged with regulating the surface impacts of underground coal mining in the state, had been put on formal notice by its federal counterpart to force a coal mine’s compliance with the law or face further regulatory action.
In the ten-day notice, officials with the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement wrote that investigators had determined that Oak Grove Mine in western Jefferson County may be out of legal compliance for failing to adequately monitor potentially explosive methane emissions from the mine.
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The notice by U.S. regulators was issued following a federal inspection of the mine and visits to residences across Oak Grove that came days after an Inside Climate News investigation into federal inaction on the issue.
The state’s response, reported here for the first time, is the first clear move by state regulators to address concerns over the risks of longwall mining since the March 2024 explosion.
State regulators had previously failed to act to address such risks and citizen concerns. It took regulators months to hold a public meeting for citizens to voice those worries, and officials said they had little power to intervene. So far, Alabama legislators have made no move toward proposing legislation to address the issues in Oak Grove, or risks from longwall mining more generally.
The inspection report underlying the ten-day notice shows that federal investigators followed in the footsteps of Inside Climate News’ reporting on Oak Grove, visiting the Griffice home and the mine as well as the homes of Lisa Lindsay, Clara Riley and Randy Myrick, all residents profiled as part of the newsroom’s Undermined series.
Love’s January response to state regulators also confirmed that state regulators believe they have the power to shut down operations at Oak Grove Mine if they believe there to be an imminent risk to citizens.
“It should be noted that on September 18, 2024, ASMC met with the management of Crimson Oak Grove Resources (Crimson),” she wrote. “During this meeting, ASMC stressed to Crimson that ASMC had the full authority to shut down the mine unless actions were taken to address the severity of the situation. The management team expressed their understanding and their desire to voluntarily go above and beyond SMCRA required rules and regulations.”
Love wrote that because of the risks involved, “all Alabama underground mine operators should be required to evaluate and strengthen processes for identifying and locating both active and abandoned water wells and implement active methane monitoring processes to further protect public health and safety.”
Federal and state regulators will then “conduct oversight to validate mine operator compliance with revised procedures,” she wrote, which will be implemented through revisions to subsidence plans required for all Alabama underground mine operators.
Oak Grove Mine has had a checkered safety history below ground. The mine ended 2024 with a record 870 safety citations and orders, according to the Mine Safety and Health Administration, totalling more than $1 million dollars in penalties, So far, nearly $790,000 of those penalties have gone unpaid.
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Lee Hedgepeth
Reporter, Alabama
Lee Hedgepeth is Inside Climate News’ Alabama reporter. Raised in Grand Bay, Alabama, a small town on the Gulf Coast, Lee holds master’s degrees in community journalism and political development from the University of Alabama and Tulane University. Lee is the founder of Tread, a newsletter of Southern journalism, and has also worked for news outlets across Alabama, including CBS 42, Alabama Political Reporter and the Anniston Star. His reporting has focused on issues impacting members of marginalized groups, including homelessness, poverty, and the death penalty. His award-winning journalism has appeared in publications across the country and has been cited by the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal and the Washington Post, among others.
The South Florida Bulls and Labaron Philon will duke it out when the Bulls (6-4) play the No. 16 Alabama Crimson Tide (7-3) at Coleman Coliseum on Wednesday, Dec. 17 at 8 p.m. ET.
See more info below, including how to watch this game on SEC Network+.
To prepare for this matchup, here’s everything you need to get ready for Wednesday’s college hoops action.
Alabama vs. South Florida: How to watch on TV or live stream
- Game day: Wednesday, December 17, 2025
- Game time: 8 p.m. ET
- Location: Tuscaloosa, Alabama
- Arena: Coleman Coliseum
- TV Channel: SEC Network+
- Live stream: Fubo – Watch NOW (Regional restrictions may apply)
Check out: USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll
Watch college basketball on Fubo!
Alabama vs. South Florida stats and trends
- Alabama has a top-25 offense this year, ranking eighth-best in college basketball with 93.1 points per game. On defense, it ranks 326th with 80.9 points allowed per contest.
- With 38.2 rebounds per game, the Crimson Tide are 27th in the nation. They give up 35.3 rebounds per contest, which ranks 333rd in college basketball.
- So far this season, Alabama ranks 43rd in college basketball in assists, putting up 17.6 per game.
- The Crimson Tide rank 79th in the country with 10.3 turnovers per game this season. Meanwhile, they rank 322nd with 9.9 forced turnovers per contest.
- Alabama ranks fourth-best in college basketball by draining 12.5 treys per game. In terms of three-point percentage, it ranks 137th in college basketball at 34.9%.
- The Crimson Tide are ceding 7.7 treys per game (189th-ranked in college basketball). They are allowing opponents to shoot 31.4% (113th-ranked) from downtown.
- Of the shots attempted by Alabama in 2025-26, 46.3% of them have been two-pointers (60.7% of the team’s made baskets) and 53.7% have been from beyond the arc (39.3%).
Alabama vs. South Florida Odds and Spread
- Spread Favorite: Crimson Tide (-14.5)
- Moneyline: Alabama (-1250), South Florida (+765)
- Total: 182.5 points
NCAA Basketball odds courtesy of BetMGM Sportsbook. Odds updated Wednesday at 3:07 a.m. ET. For a full list of sports betting odds, access USA TODAY Sports Betting Scores Odds Hub.
Watch college basketball on Fubo!
Follow the latest college sports coverage at College Sports Wire.
Earlier in the season, Alabama Crimson Tide quarterback Ty Simpson appeared to be a shoo-in to enter the NFL Draft. In fact, some even felt he could be the first signal-caller off the board.
But circumstances have changed.
Simpson had a tumultuous end to the regular season and put forth a miserable performance against Georgia in the SEC Championship Game, completing just 48.7 percent of his passes in a blowout loss.
Could Simpson’s rough stretch ultimately cause him to stay in school for another year, and if he does, is it possible he could play somewhere other than Tuscaloosa?
The idea of Simpson foregoing the draft and then entering the transfer portal has been gaining steam. In fact, sources have told Rob Gregson of A to Z Sports that it’s a real possibility.
“If Alabama loses Round 1 (of the CFP) and Kalen DeBoer stays, you have to assume it’s Keelon Russell’s job,” the source told Gregson. “Ty has lost the luster that made him a first-round pick, and he would probably return. He would immediately become the top name in the portal.”
This would be quite a turn of events for Simpson and would be somewhat similar to the move Carson Beck made last year, when he transferred from Georgia to Miami.
Of course, the chances of this happening still seem rather slim. This a rather thin quarterback draft class, with only Fernando Mendoza and Dante Moore truly challenging Simpson. Ergo, Simpson could still be a first-round pick in spite of his recent struggles.
Plus, a strong performance in the CFP could — and almost certainly would — completely alter the trajectory of Simpson and would place him back on a track as a top prospect in the eyes of most.
The 22-year-old has thrown for 3,268 yards, 26 touchdowns and five interceptions while completing 64.3 percent of his passes in 2025. Pretty solid numbers.
Simpson definitely has good NFL traits, too. He has a strong arm, and while he has only rushed for 98 yards this year, he is athletic enough to have maneuverability and escapability in the pocket. He can also make plays with his legs.
And while he doesn’t have elite size, he isn’t small, either, standing 6-foot-2 and weighing 208 pounds.
The ability is definitely there for Simpson, so it just seems hard to imagine that he would kick the NFL Draft can down the road and return to school … and transfer in the process.
Simpson surely understands how complicated of a process that would be and how it could actually damage his future in the pros.
The fact that this is a discussion, however, is beyond interesting, especially with Alabama preparing to face Oklahoma in the first round of the CFP this Friday.
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (WIAT) — Operation Light Shine is opening its first INTERCEPT Task Force in Alabama in 2026.
Operation Light Shine is a nonprofit that works to end child exploitation and human trafficking across the country. The nonprofit has five INTERCEPT Task Force locations in Tennessee, Florida, Virginia and Maryland.
The Tuscaloosa location is set to open around February, said Cpt. Phil Simpson of the West Alabama Human Trafficking Task Force.
“This is a huge deal for us,” Simpson said. “We’ll be adding people, equipment and capabilities that we don’t currently have.”
The West Alabama Human Trafficking Task Force includes agents from the Northport, Tuscaloosa and the University of Alabama police departments as well as the Tuscaloosa County Sheriff’s Office. The task force receives about 30 tips a week ranging from sextortion to child sexual abuse cases.
“It’s a huge growing trend, and it’s to the point where we needed to add processing capabilities that streamline the process of handling each case, so we can take on more cases,” Simpson said.
The partnership between the West Alabama Human Trafficking Task Force and Operation Light Shine will primarily target Tuscaloosa, but the INTERCEPT Task force will have jurisdiction across the state.
“That’s what’s great about the federal partnerships,” said Operation Light Shine Executive Director Bryan Weight. “We’re able to be nimble and go into other counties and areas, arrest as many offenders as we can and give them maximum sentences.”
The fastest growing major crime in the world is online child sexual abuse, according to the nonprofit.
“It’s not what it used to be. It’s not a bad guy in a white van,” Weight said. “Right now, that van is parked inside your home, in your kid’s room, holding it in their hand. It’s your kid’s cellphone.”
One reason is because of social media and that nearly everyone of all ages has an electronic device, Weight said. While some online platforms have online encryptions in place to protect their users, it’s protecting the person who is sexually exploiting children, Weight said.
In 2024, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children received over 19 million reports about child sexual abuse material.
“This is an epidemic we’re dealing with,” Weight said.
One reason is because of social media and that nearly everyone of all ages has an electronic device, Weight said. Operation Light Shine’s goal is to give parents and the community the tools they need to properly educate their children, so these crimes do not happen in the first place.
When these crimes happen, law enforcement rely on tips from victims, family, friends and Internet Crimes Against Children. Once a tip or report is made, just like with any crime, officers need enough evidence to obtain a search warrant.
When a warrant is executed, electronics are seized and everything on a device: photos, videos, text messages and the metadata is entered into evidence.
“They can get up to one terabyte, which some people might go ‘Oh, that’s not a lot,’” Weight said. “But if you were to print that, that’s over a 500 million pieces of paper. That’s what we’re seizing every day.”
The time it takes to go through all that information is tedious, Simpson said, and given the nature of these types of cases, it takes a toll on agents.
“That stuff is horrendous, and it stays with them,” Simpson said.
Operation Light Shine has technology that shows investigators when content has already been flagged for CSAM. The West Alabama Human Trafficking Task Force does not have that technology, which means agents must verify it firsthand.
“It will protect our investigators from having to view as much CSAM as they do,” Simpson said. Thus, the INTERCEPT Task force will also play a positive role in “looking at the mental wellbeing of our investigators and their long-term mental health,” Simpson said.
Operation Light Shine obtains the resources, training, and funding to support local law enforcement and set up INTERCEPT Task Forces because of the donations they receive.
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