FanStory.com - Centralia's Calamityby artisart4u
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Underground fire that lasted for years.
Centralia's Calamity by artisart4u

While John and I were traveling along on a business trip for our company, he started talking about 'one the areas' we passed and I listened carefully to what he had to say.

He said, "that place  'Centralia, is a borough and a near-ghost town in Columbia County, Pennsylvania ....'  [1]   Back in 1962, they tried for weeks to douse a fire and in spite of it all,  it still continued to burn.  It was a world where 'no human could live, .... At the heart of the fire, temperatures easily exceeded 1,000 degrees [Fahrenheit]....' " [2]

"What caused the fire?" I asked.
"Well, let me think about what I've read,"  John said pausing for a moment. "It was either, the fire did not go out or ash/coal was put in a trash pit.
There are lots of stories about Centralia's fire but the result was 'after days of recurring fires a hole as wide as 15 feet (4.6 m) and several feet high was found in the base of the north wall of the pit. Garbage had concealed the hole and prevented it from being filled with incombustible material. It is possible that this hole led to the mine fire, as it provided a pathway to the labyrinth of old mines.' [1]  
Foul odors from smoldering trash were smelt all around. Today, the population is down to just about zero and the town was declared an eminent domain."  

"That is a calamity that will never be forgotten," I said as we continued down the road.

 

Author Notes
I would like to thank Montana denny on Fan Art Review for the photo.
[1] Centralia, Pennsylvania [USA]. WIKI
[2] Centralia Mine Fire. WIKI.

     

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