Burham Springs

Burham Springs, widely known as Burning Springs following the destruction of the mine, is a location in the American Southwest.

Background
In 2039, Prometheus Coal, a division of Poseidon Energy, opened the Eagle's Rock mine complex in central Utah. A small mining town named Eagle Rock would open some time later. The mine would prove to be quite dangerous and inefficient, eventually leading to the company selling the site to the Federal government almost three decades later. The government turns the mine into a radioactive-waste dumping ground, manned by Agricola mining robots. The Enclave also promoted the construction of a small bunker in the mine, for personal use in the event of a war. Unfortunately for them, no Enclave members manage to reach the bunker before the Great War.

New California Republic explorers would discover the mine two centuries later. Recognizing the value of the coal, a small community was built in the remains of Eagle Rock by the wealthy NCR mine merchant, Trent Burham. The community was given a charter by Lt. Gov. Dodge to excavate the existing mines in the region for the production of valuable coal resources. Burham's men and women struck black gold, NCR tea. A small community quickly grew up around the mines in the shells of the old mining town. With the NCR railroad project moving through the area, everything was safe and secure. The NCR ignored the lower caves, as pre-war toxic waste had been dumped here by the government.

Everything went well at Burham Springs until the NCR presence pulled out. The railways were completed, and civil discontent was brewing back west. NCR recommended that the citizens of Burham Springs pack up their things and return with them. Many of the stubborn miners refused to give up what had become a very profitable and familiar way of life. Several were ex-criminals, or "integrated" tribals with no future in the rest of NCR. With no one to protect the community, it became vulnerable to attack by the powder gangs of the wasteland. After a powder gang attack between Burham Springs and Hoover Dam left several important NCR political figures dead, the 5th Engineering Company was deployed to track down the responsible gang. The gang, finally afraid of NCR's focused might, retreated to Burham Springs. The NCR's firepower forced the gang to retreat into the mines. The commanding NCR officer, Maj. Robert "Border" Briggs, hastily ordered his men to plant explosives around the mine and detonate them. The massive explosions reached all the way down the mineshafts and hit the powder stockpiles of the gang. A chain reaction occurred. Flames erupted from every mineshaft that didn't collapse. The oil and coal dust on top of the local creek and pond were lit ablaze. A number of partially-tapped veins of coal also ignited, starting an unstoppable blaze that burns and smolders to this day. To make matters worse, the explosion didn't kill everyone. At least a few dozen townsfolk and power gang members were horribly burned and exposed to the radiation leaking from the ruptured containment barrels in the lower caverns. Through mysterious 50s sci-fi-esque pseudo-science, the anthracite coal, fire, and radioactive elements combined to create a bizarre mutated monstrosity that the nearby Canaanites call "Gehennas".

Though a few extraordinarily hardy miners still pluck small amounts of coal and gang-stolen technology from the caverns, everyone else has abandoned the area out of fear. NCR doesn't even bother postiing warnings or trying to keep people out. As far as they're concerned, if you walk into a city that's been burning for over a decade, you're on your own. The three residents of the town's surface, Phil, Sparky, and Frank, collect bits of coal and small pieces of technology to trade with various merchants and roving packs of tribals. To date, only three tribal groups have tried to attack the strange trio. They were not successful. The two men and one ghoul are tough bastards, and clever enough to see trouble coming. They typically trade for food, weapons, and ammunition to defend themselves,

The Agricola mining robots can be found there, as well as horribly mutated creatures, called the gehennas and the molechs.

Appearances
Burham Springs was to appear in Van Buren, the canceled Fallout 3 project by Black Isle Studios.