For those that do not live in PA, or have never heard of this place, Centralia was a little rural town in the Anthracite region of central PA. I say "was" because it is no longer a true town anymore, only 9 people still remain. And all because of a dangerous fire burning in the mines beneath the town itself. The fire is almost 50 years old, but is not expected to go out for another 250 years. And the state did almost nothing to help the town. I went in Aug. 2009 to see it for myself, and it was very disheartnening, yet interesting. For those who love history, however strange it seems, I urge you to visit. You will not be disappointed.

In 1962, the old coal mining town in central PA used their former (but now abandoned) strip mines as landfills, and proceeded to burn their garbage as a waste disposal measure. However, there were coal veins that connected to these pits that led to the abandoned mines beneath the town. These are veins are supposed to be sealed with clay to ensure that the coal benath doesn't combust. However, one was overlooked and---chaos. But it was believed to be out until 1982, when a young residential boy fell into a sinkhole nearly 200 feet deep. By that time, stopping the underground blaze was almost impossible. After many failed attempts, most residents packed up and left.

Today, there are 9 residents remaining in the town. The whole town, save but a hilltop church, a few cemetaries, a municipal building, and the occupied houses, is all-but-barren. A network of paved streets seem to lead to nowhere. Power lines are cut, and the scenery feels overgrown. The smell of sulfur is think in the air. And, still to this day, the fire rages on in the Anthracite mines below, moving slowly on to threaten nearby communities outside of Centralia. The former road to Centralia, PA 61, suffered extensive buckling and warping from the fires that burned below, and a portion of it was permenantly closed to motor traffic; smoke from the fire below seeps out through the fissures in this closed, mile-long segment. Graffiti, crude and disrespectful, covers the former highway. And the fire moves on to threaten the new portion of PA 54/61, connecting Ashland to the deserted town.


What Burns beneath the Ground

What burns beneath the ground, unseen;
Some form of smouldering flame, below:
Full of guilt, neglect, and bitterness.
It torments, though it is quite blind
To all that moves just right above.

Beneath the growth and underbrush,
Among the hills of gray and stone,
Akin to the steeping slope does rise
A vapour from nowhere seen, yet
Felt by some who pass it by.

All that remains is the remains;
A history otherwise left untouched,
And forgotten, to the outside world,
Who, though they see it day by day,
Haven't a care or eye for it.

And such is this prospect black,
Black as the earth that smoulders beneath.
This flame, for short of 50 it is,
Has 250 like it more, and now
No less insignificant, but real.

So, give unto me this blame
In part; I wish in it to share.
For though I gave my heart and eyes,
Nothing have I done to ease it,
Young so as I am.

Go now, worldly opponents!
For as here you feast your eyes upon
The Burning Hillside, the fire
Burns beneath your feet. And so--
Where only few do still endure--

Many, I among them, will remain.

For the still-residents of Centralia: We're right behind you, and good luck.