Featured in Ripley's Believe It or Not!

Here at Ripley’s, we love to remind our readers of weird historical events. Whether it’s a river of molasses in Boston or a freak plane crash into the Empire State Building, we want to make sure you’ve heard of it.

Sometimes we can remind you of these events on the anniversary of when they happen. That’s the case with the story of the Centralia mine fire.

On May 27, 1962, the people of Centralia, Pennsylvania put into motion a course of action that would have ramifications that would continue to be felt to this day.

Smoke rising from the ground in Centralia|CC Jrmski

It was a Sunday. The citizens of Centralia were getting ready for their Memorial Day festivities to take place a day later. But there was a problem they still hadn’t dealt with: Clean up of a landfill before the celebration.

The city council had met earlier that month to discuss the best way to go about cleaning up the 300-foot wide, 75-foot long pit, and they had decided on fire. This isn’t surprising; burning trash was a common practice then.

The only problem is that Centralia had been a major coal mining area in the past, and the landfill was located on top of an old coal mine.

They set the fire on May 25th. Using hoses, they sprayed the flames to keep the fire under control, and they waited for the smoldering trash to burn itself out. Little did they know they’d be waiting for 54 years.

The fire latched onto an old coal seam from the mine and slowly spread throughout the mines under the city.

Even though the visible flames were doused throughout the day on the 25th, more fires were spotted on May 29th. This pattern of putting out fires and finding them sprouting up again days later would continue for weeks. And when there weren’t visible fires, residents complained about the constant smell of smoldering trash and coal.

Authorities tried for years to extinguish the fire. They pumped water into the mines often. They covered the surface with clay, seek to smother the blaze. They pumped a slurry of ash, water, and rocks into the mine, but nothing worked.

Eventually, they had no choice but to give up, and the city was condemned.

Wikimedia user Mredden

Wikimedia user Brian W. Schaller

The Centralia mine fire has led to the city having to be abandoned. Families were relocated to neighboring towns. As of 2013, there were only seven residents allowed to remain in the city.

The surface of the streets is no longer hot like they were since the fire has moved down deeper into the earth. But smoke can still be found creeping out of the ground in places. The ground has been so weakened by half a century of fire that a sinkhole can open anywhere at any moment. Portions of Route 61 had to be closed and redirected since it’s not safe to drive. And since coal produces deadly carbon monoxide, the air isn’t safe to breathe in certain areas.

Mine fires are burning on every continent except Antartica. But not all of them result in the ghost town outcome that’s happened to Centralia. So be careful about setting fires this Memorial Day Weekend or your city might end up like this small mining community in Pennsylvania.

Smoking crack through Route 61|Wikimedia user JohnDS

Source: The Centralia Mine Fire