Eerie US town has been burning for over 60 years
100 years ago, Centralia in Pennsylvania was a bustling town with local residents, shops and a thriving coal mining scene.
The locally sourced coal fuelled the economy for the 1,200 inhabitants that lived in the community. However, one day that all changed.
On May 27 1962, a fire broke out inside the coal mine. Workers evacuated and residents assumed it would burn out on its own, but that wasn't the case.
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To this day, the blaze is still going, resulting in the village being close to abandoned. Now, most of the buildings that made up the vibrant streets are gone and smoke escapes up from below the surface.
Today, less than five people remain who didn't want to flee the place they called home.
The fire that still burns spews poisonous gases into the air and there's a constant fear of the ground collapsing in, earning the town the name of the 'real Silent Hill'.
The federal government has even revoked the ZIP code for Centralia due to the dangers it poses.
The fire, which began in a landfill and spread throughout the coal tunnels, was repeatedly tackled by residents in the hope to extinguish it, but it kept returning with a vengeance.
What's more shocking though, is that the origin of the fire wasn't an accident.
In early 1962, the residents of Centralia had built a 50-foot-deep pit to deal with illegal dumping in the area. But by May of the same year, the landfill was getting full and needed clearing away ahead of the town's annual Memorial Day celebration.
The council suggested burning out the landfill to reduce it and on the evening of May 27 1962 firefighters came to line the pit with a material designed to contain the fire. Once the contents had diminished into ash, the fire department doused the remaining blaze with water. However, residents noticed the flames coming back on more than one occasion after being dealt with.
Confused firefighters dug up the remains to see where the source of the fire was coming from and they were shocked to discover a hole that was 15 feet wide and several feet deep, providing a direct pathway to the coal mines below the town.
As time went on, the ground grew hotter and hotter, reaching up to 900 degrees Fahrenheit in places, with residents starting to notice health issues resulting in many evacuating the area and leaving their homes behind.
Efforts to put out the fire have come to no avail, and experts estimate there is enough coal to fuel the fire for another 250 years.
Some thrill-seekers still visit Centralia as part of controlled mine fire tours, eager to learn more about this eerie and unusual town that has been burning for almost a lifetime.
Harley Young