A large kerosene fire ignited at the Phelps Dodge open-pit copper mine in Morenci early Thursday morning. The blaze sent a large, black plume of smoke into the sky that was visible from at least 35 miles away.

Fire departments from as far as 50 miles away, Safford and Thatcher in neighboring Graham County, were called in as backups.

The fire, which started around 7:45 a.m., also ignited concern in Morenci and nearby Clifton due to a rumor the fire contained toxic chemicals such as acids. Greenlee County Sheriff Richard McCluskey said the fire was "organic," meaning it was limited to kerosene. "There was never a risk to the public being harmed by toxic chemicals," McCluskey said.

The sheriff said when the fire initially erupted local officials immediately established an evacuation plan for Clifton and Morenci. He said within a half-hour of the fire's outbreak, Phelps Dodge emergency personnel established the fire was limited to kerosene.

Phelps Dodge Mining Company Communications Specialist Ward Hicks said no employees were injured in the fire.

The company evacuated the open-pit mine immediately after the above-ground fire started. Hicks said all employees were accounted for and that there were no known injuries as of 11 a.m. He said the fire was fully contained at 11 a.m.

McCluskey said two firefighters were taken from the scene to receive medical attention. They apparently suffered heat exhaustion.

The fire ignited a large amount of kerosene derivative at the Metcalf solution extraction (SX) facility at the north end of the giant mine. Hicks said he was not aware how many people were at the facility at the time of the fire. The facility has tanks of post-leaching solutions that come from the leaching stockpile. The facility is one of four solution-extraction facilities at the mine. Kerosene is used to leach copper extracted from low-grade ore.

Hicks said the tanks are part of the mine's zero discharge policy. The policy means that all chemicals used by the company must be kept in a container.

Smoke from the fire could be seen from the Gila Valley in Graham County. Hicks said kerosene-based fires produce a large amount of smoke, causing the smoke to be visible from far away. The column of smoke was also visible from Duncan in southern Greenlee County, about 37 miles from Morenci.

At 10:30 a.m., The Copper Era heard security officials at the mine's front gate say that company vehicles were being allowed into the site, but commercial vehicles were not.

Firefighters from Safford and Thatcher were also seen responding to the fire shortly after 10 a.m. Hicks said the Morenci Fire Department was the first to respond to the fire.

Also responding were the Duncan Valley Rural Fire Department and Virden, N.M., department. Clifton Town Manager Ron Armstrong said Clifton's fire and police departments were put on standby during the incident. Clifton firemen hauled foam retardant to firefighters in Morenci.

Clifton's Armstrong said there was poor communication from other agencies in keeping Clifton officials apprised about the fire's status. He also said a rumor began somewhere that the fire involved acids.

"I feel the communication (with Clifton) was awful," Armstrong said. "Our phones here wouldn't quit ringing." Callers were concerned about smoke from the fire containing acids.

"We really lacked good information. Early in the game we had no information. It was a very frustrating experience for us," he said.

Armstrong said town officials were advised by the sheriff's office that evacuation of people was a possibility. The town then received word the fire was being fueled by kerosene, but somewhere a rumor about acid being contained in the smoke was started.

The town manager said the town finally began receiving solid information from Steve Rutherford, Greenlee County's bio-terrorism coordinator. "Once he got up there and got a handle on it he gave us accurate information," Armstrong said. "He was pretty cool-handed in this whole thing."

Phelps Dodge officials said in a late Thursday afternoon news release mining operations in the open pit ceased for about three hours as a safety precaution.

The release said company officials are keeping appropriate emergency, environmental and mining officials informed about the incident.

P.D. officials also said they are reviewing plans and options to divert Metcalf leach solutions to other SX facilities at the Morenci complex. They indicated that additional details about the extent of damage to the tanks, actual production to be lost, and other financial impacts will be released as soon as they are available.

Thursday morning was particularly calm with almost no breeze blowing. Smoke that was first visible from Clifton, located in a canyon below Morenci, formed a wide, dark, gray cloud and appeared to be on the verge of spreading. However, in a short time the smoke shot directly upward into the air in a large, dark column that gradually dispersed high into the atmosphere.

The smell of smoke was hardly detectable in South Clifton.

The two Solvent Extraction Electrowinning (SXEW) facilities are a key part of copper production operations at the Morenci mine. The first SXEW plant was constructed in the late 1980s and the second a couple of years ago.

The SXEW is not as labor intensive as previous methods of processing copper. That allows Phelps Dodge to produce copper at a lower cost.

P.D. operated a smelter in Morenci until 1985. Once the smelter was shut down it was never used again. The two large smoke stacks that were once part of the Clifton-Morenci landscape were toppled in the late 1990s.