Signs scatter the town’s boundaries with warnings of asphyxiation and gaping holes lie in the road.
This isn’t the setting of a horror movie. This is the once prosperous town of Centralia, Pennsylvania. It was an old mining town that fell victim to unfortunate events over 50 years ago when a fire began underground that couldn’t be put out.
The fire could burn for another 250 years.
The fire was intentionally set in 1962, and it has been burning ever since. It began when a team of firefighters were called in to clean up a landfill. They set fire to the garbage and didn’t think much of it, until the blaze got out of control.
Because the landfill lay atop a coal seam, it didn’t take long for the fire to lead into an interconnecting maze of coal. Putting out an underground fire fueled by almost three hundred years worth of coal is not an easy task.
Pennsylvania officials said they didn’t have the kind of money to handle such a task. The federal and state governments gave up trying to extinguish the fire in the 1980s, nearly 20 years after it began. Instead, they declared all property eminent domain, bought out the homes and businesses of residents, and had them relocated. In the early 80’s, the population of Centralia consisted of about 1,000 residents. Now it’s less than 10.
The brave souls who didn’t want to leave without a fight were permitted to remain in the town. Though it’s not a town worth staying in.
[Featured Image Credit: Huffington Post]