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((Short description|Long-burning coal-seam fire in Pennsylvania))
((multiple issues|
((refimprove|date=May 2022))
((page numbers needed|date=May 2022))
))
((Distinguish|1947 Centralia mine disaster))
[[Image:Old Mine Fire 1969.jpg|thumb|A small part of the Centralia mine fire after being exposed during excavation in 1969]]
[[Image:Smoke Rising From The Former Pennsylvania Route 61.jpg|thumb|Smoke rising through a fissure in the ground in the closed-off area of former Pennsylvania Route 61 in 2010. The melted snow, which covered the ground around it, shows areas where heat is escaping from the ground below.]]
The '''Centralia mine fire''' is a [[coal-seam fire]] which has been burning in the labyrinth of abandoned [[Coal mining|coal mines]] underneath the [[Borough (Pennsylvania)|borough]] of [[Centralia, Pennsylvania]], [[United States]], since at least May 27, 1962. Its original cause and start date are still a matter of debate.<ref name=":1" />((pn|date=May 2022))<ref name=":2" /><ref name="Quigley" />((pn|date=May 2022)) It is burning at depths of up to ((cvt|300|ft|m|-1)) over an ((cvt|8|mi|km|adj=on)) stretch of ((cvt|3700|acre|km2)).<ref name="Krajick"/> At its current rate, it could continue to burn for over 250 years.<ref name="csm2010"/> Due to the fire, in the 1980s Centralia was mostly abandoned. There were 1,500 residents at the time the fire is believed to have started, but as of 2017 it has a population of 5<ref>((Cite web |url=https://www.centraliapa.org/centralia-loses-another-resident-home-abandoned/ |title=Centralia Loses Another Resident, Home Abandoned |last=PA |first=Centralia |date=2017-01-02 |website=Centralia PA |language=en-US |access-date=2019-08-04 |archive-date=2019-07-17 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190717145226/https://www.centraliapa.org/centralia-loses-another-resident-home-abandoned/ |url-status=live ))</ref> and most of the buildings have been [[Demolition|demolished]].

==Background==
On May 7, 1962, the Centralia Council met to discuss the approaching [[Memorial Day]] and how the town would go about cleaning up the Centralia [[landfill]], which was introduced earlier that year. The 300-foot-wide, 75-foot-long (((cvt |300|x|75|ft|m|disp=output only))) pit was made up of a 50-foot-deep (((cvt |50|ft|m|disp=output only))) [[strip mine]] that had been cleared by Edward Whitney((clarify|date=December 2022)) in 1935, and came very close to the northeast corner of [[IOOF|Odd Fellows]] Cemetery. There were eight illegal dumps spread about Centralia, and the council's intention in creating the landfill was to stop the illegal dumping, as new state regulations had forced the town to close an earlier dump west of St. Ignatius Cemetery. Trustees at the cemetery were opposed to the landfill's proximity to the cemetery but recognized the illegal dumping elsewhere as a serious problem and envisioned that the new pit would resolve it.<ref name=":0">((cite book |last=DeKok |first=David |title=Fire Underground: The Ongoing Tragedy of the Centralia Mine Fire |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jzqS72q-v88C&q=Bast+Colliery+Theory&pg=PA22 |year=2010 |pages=19–26 |publisher=Globe Pequot Press |isbn=978-0-7627-5427-4 |access-date=2020-11-25 |archive-date=2022-05-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220527030820/https://books.google.com/books?id=jzqS72q-v88C&q=Bast+Colliery+Theory&pg=PA22 |url-status=live ))</ref>

Pennsylvania had passed a precautionary law in 1956 to regulate landfill use in strip mines, as landfills were known to cause destructive mine fires. The law required a permit and regular inspection for a municipality to use such a pit. George Segaritus, a regional landfill inspector who worked for the Department of Mines and Mineral Industries (DMMI), became concerned about the pit when he noticed holes in the walls and floor, as such mines often cut through older mines underneath. Segaritus informed Joseph Tighe, a Centralia councilman, that the pit would require filling with an incombustible material.<ref name=":0"/>

==Fire==
[[File:Dump0307.png|The Buck Vein Outcrop|thumb]]
[[File:centralia wafting.png|A plume of smoke wafts from the ground.|thumb]]
[[File:smoke hole.png|A [[Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection|DEP]] monitoring hole|thumb]]
[[File:Temp probe.png|A DEP underground reading of ((cvt|187|F))|thumb]]
((quote|This was a world where no human could live, hotter than the planet Mercury, its atmosphere as poisonous as Saturn's. At the heart of the fire, temperatures easily exceeded 1,000 degrees [[Fahrenheit]] [540 degrees [[Celsius]]]. Lethal clouds of carbon monoxide and other gases swirled through the rock chambers.|David DeKok, ''Unseen Danger: A Tragedy of People, Government, and the Centralia Mine Fire'' (University of Pennsylvania Press, 1986)<ref name="DeKok">((Citation |title=Unseen Danger; A Tragedy of People, Government, and the Centralia Mine Fire |last=DeKok |first=David |year=1986 |publisher=University of Pennsylvania Press |location=Philadelphia |isbn=978-0-595-09270-3 |page=17))</ref>))

===Plan and execution===
The town council arranged for cleanup of the strip mine dump, but council minutes do not describe the proposed procedure. DeKok surmises that the process—setting it on fire—was not specified because state law prohibited dump fires. Nonetheless, the Centralia council set a date and hired five members of the volunteer firefighter company to clean up the landfill.<ref name=":2">Dekok 20–21.</ref>

A fire was ignited to clean the dump on May 27, 1962, and water was used to douse the visible flames that night. However, flames were seen once more on May 29. Using hoses hooked up from Locust Avenue, another attempt was made to douse the fire that night. Another flare-up in the following week (June 4) caused the Centralia Fire Company to once again douse it with hoses. A bulldozer stirred up the garbage so that firemen could douse concealed layers of the burning waste. A few days later, a hole as wide as ((cvt|15|ft|m)) and several feet high was found in the base of the north wall of the pit. Garbage had concealed the hole and prevented it from being filled with incombustible material. It is possible that this hole led to the mine fire, as it provided a pathway to the labyrinth of old mines under the borough. Evidence indicates that, despite these efforts to douse the fire, the landfill continued to burn; on July 2, Monsignor William J. Burke complained about foul odors from the smoldering trash and coal reaching St. Ignatius Church. Even then, the Centralia council still allowed the dumping of garbage into the pit.<ref name=":0"/>

Clarence "Mooch" Kashner, the president of the Independent Miners, Breakermen, and Truckers [[Trade union|union]], came at the invitation of a council member to inspect the situation in Centralia. Kashner evaluated the events and called Gordon Smith, an engineer of the Department of Mines and Mineral Industries (DMMI) office in [[Pottsville, Pennsylvania|Pottsville]]. Smith told the town that he could dig out the smoldering material using a [[steam shovel]] for $175. A call was placed to Art Joyce, a mine inspector from [[Mount Carmel, Pennsylvania|Mount Carmel]], who brought [[Gas detector|gas detection equipment]] for use on the swirling wisps of smoke now emanating from [[ground fissure]]s in the north wall of the landfill pit. Tests concluded that the gases seeping from the large hole in the pit wall and from cracks in the north wall contained [[carbon monoxide]] concentrations typical of coal-mine fires.<ref name=":0"/>

===Escalation===
The Centralia Council sent a letter to the Lehigh Valley Coal Company (LVCC) as formal notice of the fire. It is speculated that the town council decided that hiding the true origin of the fire would serve better than alerting the LVCC of the truth, which would most likely end in receiving no help from them. In the letter, the borough described the starting of a fire "of unknown origin during a period of unusually hot weather".<ref>Dekok, 25.</ref>

Preceding an August 6 meeting at the fire site which would include officials from the LVCC and the Susquehanna Coal Company, Deputy Secretary of Mines James Shober Sr. expected that the representatives would inform him they could not afford mounting a project that would stop the mine fire. Therefore, Shober announced that he expected the state to finance the cost of digging out the fire, which was at that time around $30,000 (roughly ((Inflation|USD|30,000|1962|r=-3|fmt=eq))). Another offer was made at the meeting, proposed by Centralia strip mine operator Alonzo Sanchez, who told members of council that he would dig out the mine fire free of charge as long as he could claim any coal he recovered without paying royalties to the Lehigh Valley Coal Company. Part of Sanchez's plan was to do exploratory drilling to estimate the scope of the mine fire, which was most likely why Sanchez's offer was rejected at the meeting. The drilling would have delayed the project, not to mention the legal problems with mining rights.<ref name=":0"/>

At the time, state mine inspectors were in the Centralia-area mines almost daily to check for lethal levels of carbon monoxide. Lethal levels were found on August 9, and all Centralia-area mines were closed the next day.((cn|date=May 2022))

==Early remediation attempts==
===First excavation project===
Pressed at an August 12 meeting of the United Mine Works of America in Centralia, Secretary of Mines Lewis Evans sent a letter to the group on August 15 that claimed he had authorized a project to deal with the mine fire, and that bids for the project would be opened on August 17. Two days later, the contract was awarded to Bridy, Inc., a company near Mount Carmel, for an estimated $20,000 (roughly ((Inflation|USD|20,000|1962|r=-3|fmt=eq))). Work on the project began August 22.<ref name=":0"/>

The Department of Mines and Mineral Industries (DMMI), who originally believed Bridy would need only to excavate ((cvt|24,000|cuyd|m3)) of earth,<ref name=":1">((Cite book |title=Problems in the control of anthracite mine fires : a case study of the Centralia mine fire (August 1980) |last=Chaiken, Robert F. |date=1983 |publisher=U.S. Dept. of the Interior, Bureau of Mines |url=https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/10644/cdc_10644_DS1.pdf |oclc=609303157 |access-date=2019-12-01 |archive-date=2021-06-26 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210626234212/https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/10644/cdc_10644_DS1.pdf |url-status=live ))((pn|date=May 2022))</ref>((pn|date=May 2022)) informed them that they were forbidden from doing any exploratory drilling in order to find the perimeter of the fire or how deep it was, and that they were to strictly follow plans drawn up by the engineers((which|date=January 2019)) who did not believe that the fire was very big or active. The size and location of the fire was, instead, estimated based on the amount of steam issuing from the landfill rock.((cn|date=May 2022))

Bridy, following the engineering team plan, began by digging on the northern perimeter of the dump pit rim and excavated about ((cvt|200|ft|m)) outward to expand the perimeter. However, the project was ultimately ineffective due to multiple factors. Intentional breaching of the subterranean mine chambers allowed large amounts of [[oxygen]] to rush in, greatly worsening the fire. Steve Kisela, a [[bulldozer]] operator in Bridy's project, said that the project was ineffective because the inrush of air helped the fire to move ahead of the excavation point by the time the section was drilled and blasted.((citation needed|date=January 2019)) Bridy was also using a ((cvt|2.5|cuyd|m3|adj=on)) shovel, which was considered small for the project.((cn|date=May 2022))

Furthermore, the state only permitted Bridy's team to work weekday shifts which were eight hours long and only occurred during the day time; commonly referred to as "first shift" in the mining industry.<ref>((cite web |url=https://work.chron.com/hours-first-shift-second-shift-23172.html |title=What Hours Are First Shift & Second Shift? |access-date=26 January 2018 |author=Sherman, Frasser |year=2018 |archive-date=29 January 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180129125614/http://work.chron.com/hours-first-shift-second-shift-23172.html |url-status=live ))</ref> At one point, work was at a standstill for five days during the [[Labor Day]] weekend in early September.((why?|date=January 2019))((citation needed|date=January 2019)) Finally, the fire was traveling in a northward direction which caused the fire to move deeper into the coal seam. This, combined with the work restrictions and inadequate equipment, greatly increased the excavation cost. Bridy had excavated ((cvt|58,580|cuyd|m3)) of earth by the time the project ran out of money and ended on October 29, 1962.<ref name=":0"/>

===Second excavation project===
On October 29, just prior to the termination of the Bridy project, a new project was proposed that involved flushing the mine fire. Crushed rock would be mixed with water and pumped into Centralia's mines ahead of the expected fire expansion. The project was estimated to cost $40,000 (roughly ((Inflation|USD|40,000|1962|r=-3|fmt=eq))). Bids were opened on November 1, and the project was awarded to K&H Excavating with a low bid of $28,400 (roughly ((Inflation|USD|28,400|1962|r=-3|fmt=eq))).<ref name=":0"/>

Drilling was conducted through holes spaced ((cvt|20|ft|m)) apart in a [[semicircle|semicircular]] pattern along the edge of the landfill. However, this project was also ineffective due to multiple factors. Centralia experienced an unusually heavy period of snowfall and unseasonably low temperatures during the project. Winter weather caused the water supply lines to freeze. Furthermore, the rock-grinding machine froze during a windy blizzard. Both problems inhibited timely mixture and administration of the crushed-rock slurry. The DMMI also worried that the ((cvt|10,000|cuyd|m3)) of flushing material would not be enough to fill the mines, thus preventing the bore holes from filling completely. Partially filled boreholes would provide an escape route for the fire, rendering the project ineffective.<ref name=":0"/>

These problems quickly depleted funds. In response, Secretary Evans approved an additional $14,000 (roughly ((Inflation|USD|14,000|1962|r=-3|fmt=eq))) to fund this project. Funding for the project ran out on March 15, 1963, with a total cost of $42,420<ref name=":1" />((pn|date=May 2022)) (roughly ((Inflation|USD|42,420|1962|r=-3|fmt=eq))).

On April 11, steam issuing from additional openings in the ground indicated that the fire had spread eastward as far as ((cvt|700|ft|m)),<ref name=":0"/> and that the project had failed.

===Third project===
A three-option proposal was drawn up soon after that, although the project would be delayed until after the new fiscal year beginning July 1, 1963. The first option, costing $277,490, consisted of entrenching the fire and back-filling the trench with incombustible material. The second, costing $151,714, offered a smaller trench in an incomplete circle, followed by the completion of the circle with a flush barrier. The third plan was a "total and concerted flushing project" larger than the second project's flushing and costing $82,300. The state abandoned this project in 1963.<ref name=":0"/>

==Later remediation projects==
David DeKok began reporting on the mine fire for ''[[The News-Item]]'' in [[Shamokin, Pennsylvania|Shamokin]] beginning in late 1976. Between 1976 and 1986, he wrote over 500 articles about the mine fire. In 1979, locals became aware of the scale of the problem when a gas-station owner, then-mayor John Coddington, inserted a dipstick into one of his underground tanks to check the fuel level. When he withdrew it, it seemed hot. He lowered a thermometer into the tank on a string and was shocked to discover that the temperature of the gasoline in the tank was ((cvt|172|°F|°C|1|lk=on)).<ref>((cite journal |url=http://www.slate.com/blogs/atlas_obscura/2014/06/04/centralia_a_town_in_pennsylvania_destroyed_by_a_mine_fire.html |title=How an Underground Fire Destroyed an Entire Town |journal=[[Slate (magazine)|Slate]] |access-date=August 2, 2014 |last=Morton |first=Ella |date=4 June 2014 |archive-date=7 August 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140807034055/http://www.slate.com/blogs/atlas_obscura/2014/06/04/centralia_a_town_in_pennsylvania_destroyed_by_a_mine_fire.html |url-status=live ))</ref>

Beginning in 1980, adverse health effects were reported by several people due to byproducts of the fire: [[carbon monoxide]], [[carbon dioxide]], and low [[oxygen]] levels.((citation needed|date=November 2012)) Statewide attention to the fire began to increase, culminating in 1981 when a 12-year-old resident named Todd Domboski fell into a [[sinkhole]] ((cvt|4|ft|m)) wide by ((cvt|150|ft|m)) deep which suddenly opened beneath his feet in a backyard.<ref>((Cite news |date=February 14, 1981 |url=http://www.courierpress.com/photos/2010/feb/05/53394/ |title=Evansville Photos |quote=In this Feb. 14, 1981, file photo, Todd Domboski, 12, of Centralia, Pa., looks over a barricade at the hole he fell through just hours before this photo was taken in Centralia, Pa. |access-date=2013-09-19 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130921062621/http://www.courierpress.com/photos/2010/feb/05/53394/ |archive-date=2013-09-21 |agency=Associated Press |newspaper=[[Evansville Courier & Press]]))</ref> He clung to a tree root until his cousin, 14-year-old Eric Wolfgang, saved his life by pulling him out of the hole. The plume of hot steam billowing from the hole was measured as containing a lethal level of carbon monoxide.<ref name="csm2010">((cite web |first=Eoin |last=O'Carroll |url=http://www.csmonitor.com/Environment/Bright-Green/2010/0205/Centralia-Pa.-How-an-underground-coal-fire-erased-a-town |title=Centralia, Pa.: How an underground coal fire erased a town |work=Bright Green blog |publisher=The Christian Science Monitor |date=February 5, 2010 |access-date=2013-08-05 |archive-date=2013-07-03 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130703043749/http://www.csmonitor.com/Environment/Bright-Green/2010/0205/Centralia-Pa.-How-an-underground-coal-fire-erased-a-town |url-status=live ))</ref> Todd began suffering nightmares of the incident later in life, which he turned to prescribed medication for. He died of an overdose on February 4, 2022. <ref>((Cite web |last=Speaker |first=The Coal |date=2022-02-11 |title=THE BOY WHO FELL INTO THE HOLE: TODD DOMBOSKI DEAD IN ALTOONA |url=https://coalspeaker.com/2022/02/10/the-boy-who-fell-into-the-hole-todd-domboski-dead-in-altoona/ |access-date=2024-02-11 |website=The Coal Speaker |language=en-US))</ref>

==Possible origins==
A number of competing hypotheses have arisen about the source of the Centralia mine fire. Some of them claim that the mine fire started before May 27, 1962. David DeKok says that the borough's deliberate burning of trash on May 27 to clean up the landfill in the former [[Surface mining|strip mine]] ignited a coal seam via an unsealed opening in the trash pit, which allowed the fire to enter the labyrinth of abandoned coal mines beneath Centralia.<ref name=":0" />

Joan Quigley argues in her 2007 book ''The Day the Earth Caved In'' that the fire had in fact started the previous day, when a trash hauler dumped hot ash or coal discarded from coal burners into the open trash pit. She noted that borough council minutes from June 4, 1962, referred to two fires at the dump, and that five firefighters had submitted bills for "fighting the fire at the landfill area". The borough, by law, was responsible for installing a fire-resistant clay barrier between each layer of trash in the landfill, but fell behind schedule, leaving the barrier incomplete. This allowed the hot coals to penetrate the [[Vein (geology)|vein]] of coal underneath the pit and light the subsequent subterranean fire. In addition to the council minutes, Quigley cites "interviews with volunteer firemen, the former fire chief, borough officials, and several eyewitnesses" as her sources.<ref name="Quigley">((Citation |last=Quigley |first=Joan |title=The Day the Earth Caved In: An American Mining Tragedy |place=New York |publisher=Random House |year=2007 |url=https://archive.org/details/dayearthcavedina00quig |isbn=978-1-4000-6180-8 |url-access=registration))((pn|date=May 2022))</ref>((pn|date=May 2022))<ref>((cite web |last=Quigley |first=Joan |title=Chapter Notes to ''The Day the Earth Caved In'' |url=http://www.thedaytheearthcavedin.com/chapter_notes_2007.doc |access-date=2012-03-13 |page=8 |format=DOC |year=2007 |archive-date=2014-02-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140227211322/http://www.thedaytheearthcavedin.com/chapter_notes_2007.doc |url-status=live ))</ref>

Another hypothesis is that the fire was burning long before the alleged trash dump fire. According to local legend, the Bast Colliery coal fire of 1932, set alight by an explosion, was never fully extinguished.<ref>((Cite book |last=Dekok |first=David |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jzqS72q-v88C&q=Bast+Colliery+Theory&pg=PA22 |title=Fire Underground: The Ongoing Tragedy of the Centralia Mine Fire |date=2009-10-01 |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |isbn=978-0-7627-5824-1 |pages=22 |language=en))</ref> In 1962, it reached the landfill area. Those who adhere to the Bast Theory believe that the dump fire is a separate fire unrelated to the Centralia mine fire. One man who disagrees is Frank Jurgill Sr., who claims he operated a [[Bootleg mining|bootleg mine]] with his brother in the vicinity of the landfill between 1960 and 1962. He says that if the Bast Colliery fire had never been put out, he and his brother would have been in it and killed by the gases.<ref name=":0"/>

Centralia councilman Joseph Tighe proposed a different hypothesis: that Centralia's coal fire was actually started by an adjacent coal-seam fire which had been burning west of Centralia's. His belief is that the adjacent fire was at one time partially excavated, but it nonetheless set alight the landfill on May 27.<ref name=":0"/>

Another hypothesis arose from the letter sent to the Lehigh Valley Coal Company by the Centralia Council in the days after the mine fire was noticed. The letter describes "a fire of unknown origin [starting] on or about June 25, 1962, during a period of unusually hot weather". This may make a reference to the hypothesis of spontaneous combustion being the reason for the start of the landfill fire, a hypothesis accepted for many years by state and federal officials.<ref name=":0"/>

==Aftermath==
[[Image:Cent 46.JPG|thumb|The location at which the former roadbed of [[Pennsylvania Route 61]] terminates due to the mine fire.]]
[[File:Standalone row house in Centralia, Pennsylvania.JPG|thumb|As the joining row homes were demolished, the [[buttress]]es were constructed to support the walls of the remaining homes.<ref>((cite web |title=A modern day Ghost Town, Centralia Pennsylvania |url=http://www.offroaders.com/album/centralia/ghosttown.htm |publisher=Sliprock Media LLC |access-date=15 August 2014 |archive-date=8 August 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130808174636/http://offroaders.com/album/centralia/ghosttown.htm |url-status=live ))</ref>]]
In 1984, Wilkes-Barre Representative Frank Harrison proposed legislation, which was approved by [[United States Congress|Congress]] which allocated more than $42 million for relocation efforts (equivalent to $((Inflation|USD|42|1984|r=0)) million in ((Inflation/year|USD)))<ref name="Washington News Briefs">((cite web |title=Washington News Briefs |date= November 16, 1983 |url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1983/11/16/Washington-News-Briefs/7619437806800/ |access-date= July 7, 2022))</ref>   Most of the residents accepted buyout offers. A few families opted to stay despite urgings from Pennsylvania officials.<ref name=":3">((Cite web |url=https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/radiolab/episodes/91732-cities |title=Cities ((!)) Radiolab |website=WNYC Studios |language=en |access-date=2019-12-01 |archive-date=2019-11-17 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191117214701/https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/radiolab/episodes/91732-cities |url-status=live ))</ref>

In 1992, Pennsylvania governor [[Robert P. Casey|Bob Casey]] invoked [[eminent domain]] on all properties in the borough, condemning all the buildings within. A subsequent legal effort by residents to have the decision reversed failed. In 2002, the [[United States Postal Service|U.S. Postal Service]] revoked Centralia's [[ZIP code]], 17927.<ref name="Krajick">((citation |last=Krajick |first=Kevin |url=http://www.smithsonianmag.com/issues/2005/may/firehole.php |title=Fire in the hole |journal=Smithsonian Magazine |date=May 2005 |access-date=2009-07-27 |archive-date=2008-12-01 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081201144521/http://www.smithsonianmag.com/issues/2005/may/firehole.php |url-status=live ))</ref><ref name="Currie">((citation |last=Currie |first=Tyler |date=April 2, 2003 |title=Zip Code 00000 |newspaper=Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2003/04/02/AR2005033108150.html |access-date=2009-12-19 |archive-date=2011-06-29 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110629055855/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2003/04/02/AR2005033108150.html |url-status=live ))</ref>

In 2009, Governor [[Ed Rendell]] began the formal eviction of Centralia residents.((cn |date=December 2021)) By early 2010, only 5 occupied homes remained, with the residents determined to stay.<ref name="RubinkamAP2010-02-05">((Cite news |last=Rubinkam |first=Michael |title=Few Remain as 1962 Pa. Coal Town Fire Still Burns |date=February 5, 2010 |url=http://www.aolnews.com/2010/02/05/few-remain-as-1962-fire-still-burns-in-coal-town/ |access-date=February 6, 2010 |publisher=[[ABC News (Australia)]] |agency=[[Associated Press]] |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121129045230/http://www.aolnews.com/2010/02/05/few-remain-as-1962-fire-still-burns-in-coal-town/ |archive-date=November 29, 2012))</ref> In lawsuits, the remaining residents alleged that they were victims of "massive fraud", "motivated primarily by interests in what is conservatively estimated at hundreds of millions of dollars of some of the best anthracite coal in the world".<ref name="RubinkamAP2010-03-09">((Cite news |last=Rubinkam |first=Michael |date=March 9, 2010 |title=Pa. coal town above mine fire claims massive fraud |work=San Diego Tribune |url=https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/sdut-pa-coal-town-above-mine-fire-claims-massive-fraud-2010mar09-story.html |agency=[[Associated Press]] |access-date=2021-12-22 |archive-date=2021-12-22 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211222140111/https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/sdut-pa-coal-town-above-mine-fire-claims-massive-fraud-2010mar09-story.html |url-status=live ))</ref> In July 2012, the last handful of residents in Centralia lost their appeal of a court decision upholding eminent domain proceedings and were again ordered to leave.((cn |date=December 2021)) State and local officials reached an agreement with the seven remaining residents on October 29, 2013, allowing them to live out their lives there, after which the rights of their properties will be taken through eminent domain.<ref>((cite news |date=October 30, 2013 |url=http://wnep.com/2013/10/30/agreement-reached-with-remaing-centralia-residents |title=Agreement Reached With Remaing [sic] Centralia Residents |work=[[WNEP-TV]] News |accessdate=2021-12-22 |archive-date=2019-06-10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190610105037/https://wnep.com/2013/10/30/agreement-reached-with-remaing-centralia-residents/ |url-status=live ))</ref>

The Centralia mine fire also extended beneath the town of [[Byrnesville, Pennsylvania|Byrnesville]], a few miles to the south. The town had to be abandoned and leveled.<ref>((cite news |last=Holmes |first=Kristin E. |url=http://articles.philly.com/2008-10-21/news/25263632_1_shrine-mine-fire-byrnesville |title=Minding a legacy of faith: In an empty town, a shrine still shines |publisher=Philly.com |date=October 21, 2008 |access-date=2014-02-07 |archive-date=2022-05-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220527030827/https://www.inquirer.com/archives/ |url-status=live ))</ref>

The Centralia area has now grown to be a tourist attraction.<ref>((cite web |url=http://www.offroaders.com/album/centralia/Visiting-Centralia.htm |title=Visiting Centralia PA – Frequently Asked Questions about visiting Centralia |website=Offroaders.com |access-date=2017-03-24 |archive-date=2017-05-09 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170509081624/http://www.offroaders.com/album/centralia/Visiting-Centralia.htm |url-status=live ))</ref> Visitors come to see the smoke and/or steam on Centralia's empty streets and the abandoned portion of [[Pennsylvania Route 61|PA Route 61]], popularly referred to as the Graffiti Highway.<ref>((cite web |url=http://www.centraliapa.org/graffiti-highway-centralia-pennsylvania/ |title=Graffiti Highway, Centralia Pennsylvania |website=Centraliapa.org |date=2014-09-05 |access-date=2017-03-24 |archive-date=2017-02-26 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170226192859/http://www.centraliapa.org/graffiti-highway-centralia-pennsylvania/ |url-status=live ))</ref>

As of April 2020, efforts began to cover up Graffiti Highway by the private owner of the road.<ref name=GrafHwyDemo1>((cite web |author=David Williams |title=Pennsylvania's colorful 'Graffiti Highway' is being shut down for good |website=CNN.com |url=https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/graffiti-highway-closing-trnd/index.html |date=April 8, 2020 |access-date=September 13, 2020 |archive-date=December 3, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201203113923/https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/graffiti-highway-closing-trnd/index.html |url-status=live ))</ref> The abandoned highway was covered with dirt in April 2020, generally blocking public access to the road.<ref name=GrafHwyDemo2>((cite news |url=https://www.dailyitem.com/coronavirus/graffiti-highway-to-be-closed-by-owners/article_c40c0166-781d-11ea-9dc6-f30fecce8def.html |title=Graffiti Highway to be closed by owners |date=April 6, 2020 |first=Justin |last=Strawser |newspaper=[[The Daily Item (Sunbury)|The Daily Item]] |access-date=April 6, 2020 |archive-date=April 6, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200406163249/https://www.dailyitem.com/coronavirus/graffiti-highway-to-be-closed-by-owners/article_c40c0166-781d-11ea-9dc6-f30fecce8def.html |url-status=live ))</ref><ref name=GrafHwyDemo3>((cite news |url=https://www.skooknews.com/2020/04/work-begins-on-centralias-graffiti.html |title=Work Begins on Centralia's Graffiti Highway; State Police Enforce |date=April 6, 2020 |author=Reed, J. |website=Skook News |access-date=April 6, 2020 |archive-date=April 6, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200406163248/https://www.skooknews.com/2020/04/work-begins-on-centralias-graffiti.html |url-status=live ))</ref>

[[Ideal gas law|Increased air pressure induced by the heat]] from the mine fires has interacted with heavy rainfalls in the area which rush into the abandoned mines to form Pennsylvania's only [[geyser]], the Big Mine Run Geyser, which erupts on private property in nearby [[Ashland, Pennsylvania|Ashland]]. The geyser has been kept open as a means of flood control.<ref>((cite web |url=https://www.wnep.com/article/news/local/schuylkill-county/getting-to-the-bottom-of-this-gushing-geyser-in-schuylkill-county/523-eede19c1-008d-4987-bfe1-9ee658b41dab |title=Getting to the Bottom of This Gushing Geyser in Schuylkill County |work=WNEP-TV |date=June 17, 2018 |first=Jessica |last=Albert |access-date=December 7, 2021 |archive-date=December 7, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211207154824/https://www.wnep.com/article/news/local/schuylkill-county/getting-to-the-bottom-of-this-gushing-geyser-in-schuylkill-county/523-eede19c1-008d-4987-bfe1-9ee658b41dab |url-status=live ))</ref>

The fire and its effects were featured in 2013 on ''America Declassified'' on the [[Travel Channel]], on Radiolab's ''Cities'' episode, and on [[99% Invisible]]'s ''Mini Stories: Volume 18 episode''.<ref>((cite web |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3296838/combined |title='America Declassified' Hiding in Plain Sight/City on Fire/Rock Star (2013) |website=IMDb.com |access-date=2017-03-24 |archive-date=2017-03-25 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170325023852/http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3296838/combined |url-status=live ))</ref><ref name=":3" /><ref>((Cite web |date=2024-01-09 |title=Mini Stories: Volume 18 |url=https://99percentinvisible.org/episode/mini-stories-volume-18/ |access-date=2024-01-15 |website=99% Invisible |language=en-US))</ref>

The film ''[[Silent Hill (film)|Silent Hill]]'' draws on these events, although the film is based in West Virginia.<ref>((Cite web |last=Gans |first=Christophe |date=2006-03-15 |title='Silent Hill Production Diary: On Adapting Silent Hill Lore, The Red Pyramid, and Using "Centralia" as a Temp Film Title |url=http://www.sonypictures.com/movies/silenthill/productiondiary/archives/2006/03/on_adapting_sil.php |access-date=2023-07-07 |website=Sony Pictures |language=en-US |archive-date=2012-10-18 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121018171111/http://www.sonypictures.com/movies/silenthill/productiondiary/archives/2006/03/on_adapting_sil.php |url-status=dead))</ref>

==See also==
*[[Carbondale mine fire]]
*[[Darvaza gas crater]]
*[[Jharia#Coal_field_fire|Jharia coal field fire]]
*[[Laurel Run mine fire]]
*[[New Straitsville, Ohio#History|New Straitsville mine fire]]
*[https://eastghost.com/intrigues/centralia Interview with former congressional candidate Andy Ostrowski]

==References==
((Reflist))

==External links==
*((Commons category-inline))

((Coord|40|48|04|N|76|20|15|W|source:DeptofMinesref|display=title))

[[Category:History of Columbia County, Pennsylvania]]
[[Category:Environmental disasters in the United States]]
[[Category:Fires in Pennsylvania]]
[[Category:Persistent natural fires]]
[[Category:Columbia County, Pennsylvania]]
[[Category:Disasters in Pennsylvania]]

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