May 25, 1962

There has been a fire burning beneath the ground in Centralia, Pennsylvania for 55 years.

Centralia, was an old coal mining town with a population of approximately 1,000 people.
As part of the preparation for a Memorial Day celebration, a fire was started in the landfill to dispose of the waste. This was a fairly common method of trash disposal at the time.
Unfortunately, no one considered the danger and destruction that could follow. The landfill sat on top of an old coal mine.

On that now historic day in 1962, the fire found its way into a coal seam and has continued to burn ever since. It was a controlled burn so flames on the surface were put out consistently through the day.

Unbeknownst to town officials, residents and firefighters, the fire was raging underneath the ground. The initial fire in the coal mine (which they were not yet aware of) had slowly spread to various coal mines throughout the town and for weeks, seemingly random fires were appearing.

Attempts at Extinguishing

Water, clay, rocks, and slurry, were all used in attempts to put the fire out. None were successful. They considered trying to dig a trench to prevent the fire from spreading, but ran out funding for the effort.

The government largely ignored the fire and stopped all major efforts to extinguish it. Residents were allowed to continue living in Centralia, despite the fire beneath the ground. Carbon monoxide, other fumes, smoke and soot were common place, at night you could see the fire burning beneath the ground. The structural integrity of roads, buildings, and the earth were questionable.

In 1981, the government was forced to take action. A 12 year old boy narrowly avoided death, by grabbing onto tree roots as he plunged into a fiery, toxic sinkhole. The town was condemned and parts of a major highway Route 61 had to be closed. As of 2013, Centralia had 7 residents, that choose and have been granted permissions to remain living there, despite the very real danger from sinkholes and unsafe air.

The video game 'Silent Hill' is loosely based off of this abandoned town that continues to burn below the surface.

According to a National Geographic article published in 2013, "More than 200 underground and surface coal fires are burning in 14 states". The fire in Centralia ranks as the largest, longest and most destructive one.

I hope you enjoyed and possibly learned something, I know I did.

Sidenote: The documentary was not very good in my opinion and is not worth the time to watch. I did however link it here, because I took some information from it, and it made me aware of this fascinating occurrence.

Sources:

http://www.popsci.com/extreme-science-centralia

http://www.ripleys.com/weird-news/centralia-mine-fire/

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/energy/2013/01/pictures/130108-centralia-mine-fire/

www.pixabay.com