Hardly anyone lives in this city, all the roads are blocked, the air is full of smoke, this place has no zip code, most of the plants withered or withered, the asphalt cracked on the roads. Under various layers of earth, coal deposits burn here. More like a story about a place from a post-apocalyptic movie or the town of Silent Hill from the play of the same name, but this is just a description of the American town of Centralia.
The story of this tragedy begins in 1841. When a large coal deposit was discovered in Pennsylvania, a settlement was founded here. A few years later more than two thousand people will live in the city, most of whom worked in the coal mining industry. Centralia had several stores, a school, a church, a post office, a theater, and a railway. In general, it is a good place for a quiet and peaceful life, but due to the ongoing fire for 60 years, this town has become a ghost town.
According to one version, the cause of the 1962 fire was the negligence of firefighters. Not far from the coal mine, on the outskirts of town, was a dump, which was set on fire to dispose of surface waste (a common practice at the time). But due to the inattention of the firefighters, the fire spread deep into the rubble and hit the coal deposits. Although there is another version: someone accidentally set fire to the garbage, and the firefighters were innocent. In any case, after the coal deposits caught fire, it became impossible to extinguish the fire and it soon spread to nearby areas.
When the authorities realized that it was impossible to put out the fire and local residents began to complain of health problems, the decision was made to relocate. In addition, gas stations closed in the city, some sections began to collapse and the road was covered with cracks from which smoke was coming out.
In the early 90s, most of the population of Centralia left their homes, only a few people remained (5 people in 2021). Now hardly anyone lives here, most of the buildings are destroyed, and only tourists who want thrills come to this apocalyptic place.
According to experts, the fire covers an area of more than 1 kilometer and can continue for another 260 years until all the coal is burned. In general, these types of incidents are not uncommon in the state of Pennsylvania, a similar situation occurs in several small coal mines.
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Source: IXBT
