Centralia Coal Mine Fire: Real Life Horror Story

The photograph below shows one of the many signs put up by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection warning people to stay away. Still people come by to see what's going on and to photograph and videotape the site. The air reeks with the smell of sulphur. Highway cracks run hundreds of feet, and some are several feet deep. Smoke, gasses and noxious fumes pour out of the earth. Danger is everywhere.

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With the fire burning out of control directly below, the highway has cracked and buckled. Smoke pours out of the cracks.

"This was a world where no human could live, hotter than the planet Mercury, its atmosphere as poisonous as Saturn's. At the heart of the fire, temperatures easily exceeded 1,000 degrees. Lethal clouds of carbon monoxide and other gases swirled through the rock chambers."

(DeKok, David (1986). Unseen Danger; A Tragedy of People, Government, and the Centralia Mine Fire. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press. p. 17)

Flickr photographer "divinemisscopa" wrote the following about her photograph below: "Here you can see a large crevice in a stretch of highway, now abandoned, leading to Centralia, PA. There was smoke rising from the center of the crack, however, it was difficult to capture it in this photograph. I woke up this morning with a sore throat, undoubtably caused by sucking in this stuff for an hour or so yesterday."

Smoke wafts from a Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) monitoring hole in Centralia, Pennsylvania.

"Panoramic view of [what was] Route 61 through Centralia, Pennsylvania

The town of Centralia has been devastated. The neighboring village of Brynesville has also been abandoned because of fire. The last home there was demolished in 1996. All that exists now in Brynesville are the ruins of the coal miner's washhouse and this shrine, made of cinder blocks and old bathtubs.(See photo below)

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Information Courtesy of the online encyclopedia, Wikipedia

"One theory asserts that in May 1962, Centralia Borough Council hired five members of the volunteer fire company to clean up the town landfill, located in an abandoned strip mine pit next to the Odd Fellows Cemetery. This had been done prior to Memorial Day in previous years, when the landfill was in a different location. The firefighters, as they had in the past, set the dump on fire, and let it burn for a time. Unlike in previous years, however, the fire was not extinguished."

"The fire remained burning underground and spread through a hole in the rock pit into the abandoned coal mines beneath Centralia. Attempts to extinguish the fire were unsuccessful and it continued to burn throughout the 1960s and 1970s. Adverse health effects were reported by several people due to the byproducts of the fire, carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide and lack of healthy oxygen levels."

"In 1979, locals became aware of the scale of the problem when a gas-station owner and then mayor, John Coddington, inserted a stick into one of his underground tanks to check the fuel level. When he withdrew it, it seemed hot, so he lowered a thermometer down on a string and was shocked to discover that the temperature of the gasoline in the tank was 172 °F (77.8 °C). Statewide attention to the fire began to increase, culminating in 1981 when 12-year-old resident Todd Domboski fell into a subsidence four feet wide by 150 feet (46 m) deep that suddenly opened beneath his feet in a backyard."

"In 1984, Congress allocated more than $42 million for relocation efforts. Most of the residents accepted buyout offers and moved to the nearby communities of Mount Carmel and Ashland. A few families opted to stay despite warnings from state officials."

"In 1992, Pennsylvania claimed eminent domain on all properties in the borough, condemning all the buildings within. A subsequent legal effort by residents to have the decision reversed failed. In 2002, the United States Postal Service revoked Centralia's ZIP Code, 17927."

Information Courtesy of the online encyclopedia, Wikipedia

"Award-winning journalist David DeKok tells, for the first time, how the Centralia mine fire really started in 1962. He shows how local, state and federal government officials failed to take effective action, allowing the fire to move underneath the small town of Centralia, Pennsylvania. By early 1981, the fire was sending deadly gases into homes, forcing the federal government to install gas alarms."

"A 12-year-old boy dropped into a steaming hole in the ground wrenched open by the fire's heat on Valentine's Day as the region's congressman toured nearby." The hole was about four feet in diameter and approximately 150 feet deep. The boy managed to hold on to exposed tree roots and was pulled out by his cousin.

"DeKok tells how the people of Centralia banded together to demand help from the government, finally winning money to relocate much of the town."

Centralia Pennsylvania....truth is stranger than fiction
Time Magazine Article "The Hottest Town in America"
Centralia Mine Fire - RoadsideAmerica.com
Centralia, the mouth of hell (lots of photos) - Fogonazos
The Smoldering Ruins of Centralia - Damn Interesting
Silent Hill - Official site - Sony Pictures
The Unforgettable Fire
Pennsylvania Highways: The Centralia Fire
Remembering Byrnesville, PA 1856 - 1996

Until the early 1970s or early 80s, the underground mine fire was considered an inconvenience. It was not until a 12 year boy, playing in the backyard, fell through a 150 foot sink hole created by the fire that the media began paying attention and the government offered to relocate people and the residents fled. (Luckily, the boy was pulled out by his cousin). But was "danger" what caused the government to finally intervene and relocate people?

According to the former towns' mayor, Lamar Mervine, the youngster sank into a former outhouse hole and the media exaggerated it. He feels the government is responsible for the mass exodus from Centralia and Byrnsville and the reason is that they want the land.

The land in Centralia is extremely valuable because of its anthracite coal. Anthracite is a rare and slow burning hard coal. The reserves under Centralia make up a little less than two percent of the United States reserves and is estimated to be worth tens of millions of dollars. In an article by Jason Zasky, called "The Unforgettable Fire: Centalia, PA's Eternal Flame," he writes that the U.S. government has no incentive to put out the fire until all residents of Centralia are gone and mining can begin.

The former town's mayor says: "The people couldn't move away fast enough - at least by the estimation of the state's politicians. "When they first started to move out the governor came to town and told us, 'anybody who wants to move, we'll buy the home-no pressure'," says Mervine. "But then they declared eminent domain [the right of the government to appropriate private property for public use] and said ALL the homes were in the 'impact zone.' "*

Because Centralia is the only municipality within the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania that actually owned its mineral rights, many believe that the state's eminent domain claim is a ploy to gain the mineral rights to the anthracite coal beneath the borough.

The zip code for Centralia has been revoked and most maps no longer show any existence of the town. In Ashland, which is 1.6 miles away, the highway detours. No reason is posted and rarely does anyone question it.

*The Unforgettable Fire: Centalia, PA's Eternal Flame

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The photographers "Lyndi & Jason" wrote: "An underground mine fire has been burning in Centralia since 1962. This is the town's time capsule vault to be opened in 2016. We're expecting them to find... ashes?"

Unfortunately, they may have a point.

August 26, 2010
WGRC Radio in Pennsylvania has reported the following:

"In Columbia County a Judge has ruled that Centralia landowners can keep the rights to coal under their properties in case there is any future mining there. But the government still plans to move forward with buyouts of the few remaining homes in the borough plagued by an underground mine fire. The Press Enterprise reports, Columbia County Judge Thomas James says owners can have the rights to coal but along with coal rights comes the responsibility for getting out of there. The recent issue was whether the government takeover of the homes also includes "subsurface" or mineral rights. James will preside over a jury trial scheduled to begin in two weeks to set property values on remaining homes and parcels owned by Helen Hynoski; her son Steve and wife Bonnie Hynoski; Carl and Helen Womer; and late Centralia Mayor Lamar Mervine Jr. and wife Lana. But that won't be the last legal chapter in Centralia's long fight for survival since condemnation declarations were made in Harrisburg on January 28th, 1993. Harrisburg attorney Bart Holmes and Don Bailey, representing the Centralians' say the property owners plan to appeal after the trial, and take the matter to a higher court."
Jim Diehl (WGRC)

Other news:
Centralia's former mayor, Lamar Mervine, died on New Year's Day 2010.