Centralia Pennsylvania
...truth is stranger than fiction.
A Pennsylvania community consumed by
an underground mine fire.
If you were driving north on route 61 in the heart of the Anthracite coal region in
Pennsylvania in recent years, you may have come across a detour of 61 at the top of a hill
in a community called Ashland. Thinking nothing of it you would have followed the detour
signs that took you around some possible road construction or a bridge being worked on.
You're then reconnected with Rt. 61 again.
Many have followed this path in recent years with little knowledge of the on going story
of this little detour and the town that no longer is really a town. If you had disregarded
the detour signs and make the right that 61 north takes through Ashland your first clue
that something isn't right would be the abrupt end to route 61 as it once was.
This road closure seems to be more than just a little construction up around the bend. At
closer inspection it would seem to be a more permanent close of the road. If you were to
look to your right and follow a small, slightly less engineered road down and around the
closed route 61 it would re-emerge at the beginning of the story. Centralia.
The ruins of Centralia Pennsylvania no longer exists on some maps. The story began
sometime in 1962 along the outskirts of town when trash was burned in the pit of an
abandoned strip mine, which connected to a coal vein running near the surface. The burning
trash caught the exposed vein of coal on fire. The fire was thought to be extinguished but
it apparently wasn't when it erupted in the pit a few days later. Again the fire was doused
with water for hours and thought to be out. But it wasn't. The coal then began to burn
underground. That was in 1962. For the next two decades, workers battled the fire,
flushing the mines with water and fly ash, excavated the burning material and dug
trenches, backfilled, drilling again and again in an attempt to find the boundaries of the
fire and plan to put the fire out or at least contain it. All efforts failed to do either as
government officials delayed to take any real action to save the village. By the early 1980s
the fire had affected approximately 200 acres and homes had to be abandoned as carbon
monoxide levels reached life threatening levels. An engineering study concluded in 1983
that the fire could burn for another century or even more and "could conceivably spread
over an area of approximately 3,700 acres."
As time passed, each feeble attempt to do anything to stop the fire or help the residents
of Centralia would cost more and more due to the fires progression. Over 44 years and 40
million dollars later the fire still burns through old coal mines and veins under the town and
the surrounding hillsides on several fronts. The fire, smoke, fumes and toxic gases that
came up through the back yards, basements and streets of Centralia literally ripped the
town apart. Most of the homes were condemned and residents were relocated over the
years with grants from the federal government although some die-hards refused to be
bought out and some still remain in the town. Today Centralia is a virtual ghost town with
only a few remaining residents. As they continue to live in their beloved homes now owned
by the federal government, people pass every day along Route 61, most totally unaware of
the history surrounding them and the sad story of Centralia.
Studies have shown that if the fire is not contained it will continue to spread following the
rich coal deposits and eventually threaten the neighboring town of Ashland, less that two
miles away. Many people including former (and current) residents of Centralia insist that
there is more to this story than meets the eye. Some believe that the rich deposits of coal
beneath the town itself is the reason for the forced relocation of the towns people and
to force the town to go defunct, giving up its mineral rights. The stories around what is
happening here vary depending on who you talk to or what you read. What is certain is
what has happened to this small community and the fact that Centralia as it once was, will
never be again.
...truth is stranger than fiction.
A Pennsylvania community consumed by
an underground mine fire.
If you were driving north on route 61 in the heart of the Anthracite coal region in
Pennsylvania in recent years, you may have come across a detour of 61 at the top of a hill
in a community called Ashland. Thinking nothing of it you would have followed the detour
signs that took you around some possible road construction or a bridge being worked on.
You're then reconnected with Rt. 61 again.
Many have followed this path in recent years with little knowledge of the on going story
of this little detour and the town that no longer is really a town. If you had disregarded
the detour signs and make the right that 61 north takes through Ashland your first clue
that something isn't right would be the abrupt end to route 61 as it once was.
This road closure seems to be more than just a little construction up around the bend. At
closer inspection it would seem to be a more permanent close of the road. If you were to
look to your right and follow a small, slightly less engineered road down and around the
closed route 61 it would re-emerge at the beginning of the story. Centralia.
The ruins of Centralia Pennsylvania no longer exists on some maps. The story began
sometime in 1962 along the outskirts of town when trash was burned in the pit of an
abandoned strip mine, which connected to a coal vein running near the surface. The burning
trash caught the exposed vein of coal on fire. The fire was thought to be extinguished but
it apparently wasn't when it erupted in the pit a few days later. Again the fire was doused
with water for hours and thought to be out. But it wasn't. The coal then began to burn
underground. That was in 1962. For the next two decades, workers battled the fire,
flushing the mines with water and fly ash, excavated the burning material and dug
trenches, backfilled, drilling again and again in an attempt to find the boundaries of the
fire and plan to put the fire out or at least contain it. All efforts failed to do either as
government officials delayed to take any real action to save the village. By the early 1980s
the fire had affected approximately 200 acres and homes had to be abandoned as carbon
monoxide levels reached life threatening levels. An engineering study concluded in 1983
that the fire could burn for another century or even more and "could conceivably spread
over an area of approximately 3,700 acres."
As time passed, each feeble attempt to do anything to stop the fire or help the residents
of Centralia would cost more and more due to the fires progression. Over 44 years and 40
million dollars later the fire still burns through old coal mines and veins under the town and
the surrounding hillsides on several fronts. The fire, smoke, fumes and toxic gases that
came up through the back yards, basements and streets of Centralia literally ripped the
town apart. Most of the homes were condemned and residents were relocated over the
years with grants from the federal government although some die-hards refused to be
bought out and some still remain in the town. Today Centralia is a virtual ghost town with
only a few remaining residents. As they continue to live in their beloved homes now owned
by the federal government, people pass every day along Route 61, most totally unaware of
the history surrounding them and the sad story of Centralia.
Studies have shown that if the fire is not contained it will continue to spread following the
rich coal deposits and eventually threaten the neighboring town of Ashland, less that two
miles away. Many people including former (and current) residents of Centralia insist that
there is more to this story than meets the eye. Some believe that the rich deposits of coal
beneath the town itself is the reason for the forced relocation of the towns people and
to force the town to go defunct, giving up its mineral rights. The stories around what is
happening here vary depending on who you talk to or what you read. What is certain is
what has happened to this small community and the fact that Centralia as it once was, will
never be again.
Photographs cropped by The Pennsylvania Paranormal Research Team
We are Pennsylvania Paranormal Research Team we took these photos at a cemetery in
Centralia Pennsylvania where the town was destroyed by the biggest mine fire ever. We are
attaching a brief bio of the town and some photos we hope your readers will enjoy.
Centralia Pennsylvania where the town was destroyed by the biggest mine fire ever. We are
attaching a brief bio of the town and some photos we hope your readers will enjoy.
@
Centralia Pennsylvania Mine Fire
