Many of you probably heard about Centralia, and the mine fire that has been burning underground since 1960's,
so I won't go into great details on the history of it. To make the long story short, it spread to underground network
of mines from a landfill fire. Due to mismanaged efforts of containment, the population of Centralia was reduced from
about 1200 in 1960's to about 7 currently.
Anyway, I became very interested in the area after having it as a subject of my final project for Geographical Information
Systems class. And today I actually got a chance for a quick visit, and of course, a few photos:
View from Aristes, PA.
Most of the houses have been condemned and demolished, with the state of Pennsylvania declaring eminent domain on all properties in 1992:
"South Hill." Smoke rises from the underground fire:
Windmills just outside the town:
Centralia Town Hall seen from South Hill:
Industrial wasteland:
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View from north along Trautwine Street towards South Hill
The subsided and abandoned section of PA 61:
The funny thing is, people clearly put things to make it burn more:
Dead end. The subsided section is blocked off at both ends by rocks and mounds of dirt, but pedestrian traffic is easily accessible:
Former site of Centralia town landfill, located behind Odd Fellows cemetery (top left) This is where the fire is presumed to have originated
Vents installed to keep underground gases from building up to dangerous pressures:
Centralia wide panorama from South Hill:
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