FAIRPORT HARBOR, Ohio — Morton Salt has laid off 77 workers after a flood shut down its mine about 2,000 feet beneath Lake Erie, disrupting road salt deliveries just ahead of winter.

The mine in Painesville Township / Fairport Harbor, Ohio, active since 1992, flooded last week after a sudden underground water intrusion discovered Oct. 22. All miners were evacuated safely, and nobody was injured.

Morton Salt ceased all underground mining operations indefinitely, announced Oct. 26, and laid off 77 employees effective Oct. 28 — 69 hourly and 8 salaried workers in mining, maintenance, surface operations and administration — per a WARN notice filed Oct. 26 with the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services. Affected workers get 60 days of pay in lieu of notice and benefits through the end of the year.

Federal mine inspectors with the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) are probing the cause of the flooding. It is unclear if or when the mine will reopen.

For Northwest Ohio readers, the winter stakes are immediate: road salt deliveries scheduled to begin Monday will not arrive as planned. Salt from this mine serves Ashtabula, Geauga, Lake, Mahoning, Portage and Trumbull counties. The Ohio Department of Transportation reported holding about 624,000 tons of salt as of Oct. 27 — about 73% of seasonal capacity — and said it is in contact with Morton Salt.

Sources: New York Post and WNIR, with reporting attributed to FOX 8 and Cleveland.com where cited.

Photo: Cara Denison via Pexels.