This Pennsylvania Town Has Been on FIRE for 60 Years With No End in Sight
On this day, 64 years ago, an underground fire ignited beneath Centralia, Pennsylvania and it continues burning over six decades later.
Centralia was developed around rich deposits of anthracite coal, the most carbon-dense form of the fossil fuel, making it very difficult to light. However, once lit, it is nearly impossible to put out.
As the town grew, so did its trash problem. When the trash piled up in landfills, they would initiate a controlled burn of the waste. However, when a controlled burn began on May 27th, 1962, the burning debris caused a hidden underground coal mine to ignite. This was the beginning of the end for Centralia.
The fire raged for nearly 20 years after several failed attempts to put it out. Then, on Valentine’s Day, 1981, things, literally, started to crack. On that cold winter day, 12-year-old Todd Domboski saw steam rising from his grandma’s backyard and went to investigate. As he approached the steam, the ground fell out beneath him, nearly swallowing the adolescent in a fiery mouth of burning coal and lethal fumes.
After the harrowing events of that day, the town could no longer ignore the growing fire. However, solutions to contain the fire were greatly expensive. Eventually, the US government decided to spend $42 million dollars on relocating the residents out of Centralia, with the majority of people settling in neighboring towns such as Ashland and Mount Carmel.
Now, 64 years and millions of dollars later, experts estimate that the fire could continue to burn for 250 years.
#pennsylvania #centralia #fire #ashland #mountcarmel
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Centralia was developed around rich deposits of anthracite coal, the most carbon-dense form of the fossil fuel, making it very difficult to light. However, once lit, it is nearly impossible to put out.
As the town grew, so did its trash problem. When the trash piled up in landfills, they would initiate a controlled burn of the waste. However, when a controlled burn began on May 27th, 1962, the burning debris caused a hidden underground coal mine to ignite. This was the beginning of the end for Centralia.
The fire raged for nearly 20 years after several failed attempts to put it out. Then, on Valentine’s Day, 1981, things, literally, started to crack. On that cold winter day, 12-year-old Todd Domboski saw steam rising from his grandma’s backyard and went to investigate. As he approached the steam, the ground fell out beneath him, nearly swallowing the adolescent in a fiery mouth of burning coal and lethal fumes.
After the harrowing events of that day, the town could no longer ignore the growing fire. However, solutions to contain the fire were greatly expensive. Eventually, the US government decided to spend $42 million dollars on relocating the residents out of Centralia, with the majority of people settling in neighboring towns such as Ashland and Mount Carmel.
Now, 64 years and millions of dollars later, experts estimate that the fire could continue to burn for 250 years.
#pennsylvania #centralia #fire #ashland #mountcarmel
The New York Post is your source for breaking news, news about New York, sports, business, entertainment, opinion, real estate, culture, fashion, and more.
Check out our three new podcasts:
NYNext (week): https://www.youtube.com/@nynext1
Pod Force One with MIranda Devine (weekly): https://www.youtube.com/@PodForce1
NY POSTcast (daily): https://www.youtube.com/@NYPOSTcast
Get The Post’s latest headlines everyday with our Morning Report newsletter:
https://tinyurl.com/NYPOSTSIGNUP
Catch the latest news at http://www.nypost.com.
Follow The New York Post on:
Twitter - https://twitter.com/nypost
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/NYPost
New York Post
The New York Post is your source for breaking news, news about New York, sports, business, entertainment, opinion, real estate, culture, fashion, and more....