One Hot Town: The Centralia Coal Fire
The town of Centralia, Pennsylvania, has been on fire since 1962.
The anthracite coal industry gave birth to Centralia, Pennsylvania. Coal destroyed the town, too.
Centralia was founded in the 1800s. By the mid twentieth century, the town of 2,000 had its own school district, seven churches, five hotels, and a couple of theaters.
But in 1962, the town’s sanitation department decided to incinerate garbage in a landfill on the outskirts of town. It turned out to be a bad move. A very bad move. The landfill was located on an abandoned coal mine. Coal, as coal is wont to do, began to burn.
Underground Spread of Coal Fire
Several attempts were made to put out the fire. Workers tried to dig out the burning coal, and they tried to smother the flames with wet sand and cement. They even tried to dig a fire trench to stop the creeping flames. But all that digging only succeeded in ventilating the flames. The underground fire continued to spread.
In 1979, the seriousness of the fire became clear. A gas-station owner checking the fuel level in his station’s underground tanks noticed his measuring stick getting hot. He dropped a thermometer into the tank’s gasoline and was shocked to discover the explosive fuel cooking at 172°F.
By 1984, sinkholes and carbon monoxide made living in the town dangerous. Congress set aside $42 million to relocate remaining residents to nearby towns. In 1992, all the remaining buildings were condemned, and in 2002 the US Postal Service retired the town’s 17927 zip code.
Today, the fire continues burning beneath 400 acres, sending up smoke and steam from cracks in the ground and abandoned roads. The fire is consuming an eight-mile seam of coal large enough to fuel the fire for another 250 years.
Coal Fires Around the World
There are thousands of underground coal fires around the world. They’re started by humans, lightning, brush fires, and even spontaneous combustion.
One such fire is still burning in an old coal mine in Glenwood Springs, Colorado. It started over a hundred years ago, and in 2002, it ignited a 12,000 acre forest fire that cost $6.5 million to put out.
Australia’s Burning Mountain, the oldest known underground coal fire, has been burning for over 6,000 years.
Read more Amazing, Orgasmic, and Fantastic Facts: Amasnic Fact Off Archive.
Read More: Centralia, coal fire, mine fire, anthracite
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April 21st, 2007 at 6:57 am
You shure know how to ruin a nice saturday morning, since there is talk that they will open up some coal mines in this area of central Illinois. Just hope they don’t the plugs for the pond and lake and ruin my two fishing holes by draining them.
April 21st, 2007 at 7:11 am
If the fishing ponds come unplugged I bet all that water will put the fire out and the mud will replug the leaks. Plus, if there are any coal fires, maybe the fish will get treated to heated ponds next winter…either that, or they’ll come out already cooked ;-)
April 21st, 2007 at 9:11 am
It’s so nice to converse with MR. Sunshine