At 10:57 p.m. on April 21, 1917, a hole 30 feet deep and 15 feet wide was found under the Fire Hall with water running in from the hillside. Five minutes later water from Gastineau Channel began running into the hole. The three mines that flooded had a working depth of 2800 feet and some 10 million tons of ore had been removed. The mines were not actually under the channel, but caved in from the side. An estimated three million tons of seawater filled this space in three and one-half hours. It took one hour and forty minutes to get all of the men out of mine after the alarm was sounded. Water and rocks were pouring down on the cage of the hoist when the last men were lifted out. Less than an hour later, a geyser of salt water spouted 200 feet above the combination shaft from which the men had evacuated. Only one man was reported missing and some thought he had skipped town. Others thought he did not make it out of the mine in time. A dozen horses, one mule and machinery were not saved.
