The Centralia Mine Fire - An Underground Inferno

this video is brought to you by Squarespace the all-in-one platform for building your brand and growing your business online more about them later Cole provided the steam which powered the Industrial Age without a coal there would have been no Coke to smell steel no railroads Binding Together cities and no ships carrying global trade the demand for coal created mines across areas unsuitable for farms and incapable of supporting large communities often the harvesting of coal became the only means of support in many areas of the United States particularly the Rough Country of Appalachia their minds were worked by families through several Generations until the mines were played out or more profitable occasions were found for the coal companies to exploit building Factory towns for those who brought the coal out of the ground Centralia Pennsylvania was one such Town founded in 1866 as a company town for employees of the Locust Mountain coal and iron company the 1890 census recorded about 2500 people living in the community most of them deriving their living in one form or another from the anthracide coal League extracted at great Labor and danger from the ground the town picked a population and prosperity before the second world war by 1960 it was showing the effects of steep economic decline as demand for its sole product waned only about 1500 continued to call Centralia home when the earth beneath the town literally caught far since then the town and the surrounding area have become an example of Hell on Earth at least for those who Envision a hell of far and brimstone cracks in the ground became crevices with evil smelling smoke emitting from them into the atmosphere at night flashes of flame can sometimes be seen the region surrounding what was once Centralia covers 3 700 Acres that's eight square miles of abandoned buildings driveways and streets leading to Nowhere burnt out vegetation and cracks in the ground exuding smoke and toxic gases into the air often what remains are paved streets and lots are hot to the touch the smell of sulfur permeates the air the town itself is abandoned its last official residence departing in the early 21st century Centralia is the site of an underground fire of Supernatural Dimensions though it owes its existence to the efforts of humanity in fact the Centralia mine fire represents a series of disasters which began with human inattention to safety rules grew with human concerns over Financial ramifications and continues to grow today because it appears too expensive to stop it underground coal fires are not rare one in New South Wales is believed to have been burning for more than 5000 years in China where there are hundreds burning underground coal fires are estimated to consume roughly 18 million metric tons of coal per year in Germany and underground coal fire has been burning continuously since the 1600s in also pain building a website the coding the layout the upkeep it's enough to make your head spin and 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they're interacting with your content there are so many more features to explore on the Squarespace website so be sure to head to squarespace.com to check it out you'll get a free trial and when you're ready to launch go to squarespace.com forward slash Geographics and you'll save 10 of your first purchase of a website or a domain using the code Geographics thank you to Squarespace for sponsoring this video and making website building a breeze and now back to today's video bone is the Branded Berg which translates to burning Mountain Fire it is widely believed to have been caused by spontaneous combustion in 1770 Wolfgang vangata visited the site and described the experiences being enveloped by a strong sulfur smell one side of the cave was almost glowing and covered are with reddish white roasted Rock India has dealt with numerous such fires including ads the jaria coal Fields where some fires are burned since 1916. over 37 million tons of coal has been consumed and additional tons have been blocked from being mined in America coal fires have are aged in California Montana Colorado Pennsylvania West Virginia and other sites how many fires are currently burning underground as yet undetected it's just anybody's guess Centralia though holds a special place in those who study such disasters are involved in the coal industry are interested in the Supernatural or are simply curious about the makeup and history of good on Mother Earth in comparison to some of the global fires currently burning it is a new color despite the damage it is done below ground and above it is but a pika in terms of Financial and ecological impact and it is most likely the result of Humanity's inattention to the potential damage it can cause to the planet [Music] foreign Centralia was well past its prime as a mining community in 1962. though some mining still took place the town's population had dropped to less than 1500 during the most recent census 1960. abandoned underground mines crisscrossed beneath the community and its nearby environs some abandoned mines were exploited by bootleg miners these miners not connected with any legitimate Mining Company often carved coal out of the supporting pillars underground Left Behind during earlier mining operations eventually the pillars collapse blocking off the mine and helping to create an underground maze that was nearly impenetrable open pit mines dotted the landscape also abandoned as sources for colon and in some cases finding new life as waste disposal pits in the 1950s Town leaders began burning the waste pits in the spring usually employing volunteer farm and to supervise operations in May 1962 varman burned a waste dump located in an abandoned pit mine after allowing the fire to burn for what they determined to be a reasonable time it was extinguished also they thought within days it was evident that the fire had moved underground I opening in the Earth had allowed the waste fire to ignite the Subterranean coal seam efforts to extinguish the blaze proved futile after several days the opening was buried under dirt and Rubble to most experts the waste pit fire which occurred just prior to Memorial Day 1962 oh it was the beginning of the Centralia fire but not everyone agreed subsequent students of the far have attributed its ignition to earlier incidents including one in which hot coal ash was dumped into an abandoned pit mine another claimed the fire began spontaneously yet another attributed the fire to a mine shaft fire which occurred three decades earlier at the vast coilery in 1932. according to the theory the bass coilery fire never had been completely extinguished and smoldered underground for 30 years undetected by miners in the area eventually igniting the seam leading beneath Centralia foreign in the abandoned pit where the fire had been detected in 1962 Centralia more or less went about its business undeterred some surface and pit mining continued bootleg mining continued into the 1980s there was some awareness of the subsurface fire but underground coal fires actually called coal seam fires are relatively common and no particular danger threatening the town or region was noted in 1979 centralia's John Coddington who operated one of the town's gas stations it used a dipstick to measure the quantity of fuel in one of his underground storage tanks the business end of the stick proved warm to the touch he also noticed steam Rising through the dirt floor of the building's basement the temperature of the floor was measured at 136 degrees Fahrenheit while that is well below the temperature at which gasoline ignites it was also well above the temperature one would expect in December the station was closed and its underground storage tanks drained of gas two years later in 1981 a 12 year old boy playing outside suddenly had the Earth open up beneath his feet a sinkhole belching Steam and gases swallowed him before the shocked eyes of a fourteen-year-old friend who reacted swiftly the first boy Todd Dombrowski grabbed onto tree roots and held on for dear life as his friend helped pull him to safety the sinkhole opened to a depth of 150 feet and the chasm was filled with toxic levels of carbon monoxide gas since the near accidents occurred within the town limits of Centralia and since it involved children it immediately became a cause of concern suddenly Centralia had a problem one far worse than the gradual closure of the local mines the sinkhole incident also occurred perhaps providently at a time when the town was being visited by Pennsylvania Governor dicks thornber as well as Congressman James nelligan Young Dombrowski reported that while playing he was in his grandmother's backyard he spied smoke rising from the ground and it was while approaching the spot to satisfy his own curiosity that the sinkhole opened Thornburg and elegant were in town to investigate complaints of smoke steam sulfurous smells and high surface temperatures image of a young boy being swallowed whole into a Subterranean hell aroused their instincts within days nelligan called for federal funds to support the relocation of affected families helping them escape the danger zone according to an article reporting the incident in the York Daily Register on February 17 1981 Centralia was by then quote this Columbia County community of a thousand indicating a considerable loss of population in the preceding two years foreign following the revelation of dombrowski's brush with the fire below the efforts of the local community and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to control the fire in early 1960s became widely known several attempts at stopping the fire spread using evacuation of the coal seam and its path had failed flushing a technique in which holes were drilled into the seam and filled with non-combustible materials such as waterlogged sand also failed to control the spread in August 1962 unsafe carbon monoxide levels led to the legal closure of all mines beneath Centralia by 1963 the state had exhausted the available remedies and the funds needed to fight the underground far it simply gave up in the ensuing years the fire continued increased reports of high surface temperatures smoke emitting crevices and sinkholes appeared and some people began to leave Centralia with little in the way of financial aid between 1976 and 1986 a reporter for the Shamokin news item published hundreds of articles about the fire in the increasing complaints of problems encountered by Centralia residents among these were adverse health effects caused by the polluted air but it wasn't until the reports of Dombrowski sinkhole that the fire gained widespread attention across the state by then it was clear that the state could do little to contain the far let alone extinguish it and removal of residents from the path of danger became the goal of responsible authorities foreign Congress authorized 42 million dollars to relocate the residents of Centralia about 110 million dollars in 2022 most of the dwindling population of the little town accepted the money and got out where they went is largely unknown but subsequent census results indicate that very few relocated to towns in the general facility seeing the Centralia was located in America it's no surprise that some refused the offer and the money opting to stay where they were the laggards LED Pennsylvania Governor Robert Bob Casey to exercise eminent domain condemning the structures within the bounds of Centralia in 1992. residents who had chosen to remain went to court to fight Casey's eminent domain though their efforts were mostly in vain they were allowed to remain in their homes though ownership transferred to the state meanwhile beneath their feet the fire burned in 2009 another Pennsylvania Governor Ed Randall initiated eviction processors against the remaining residents in Centralia by early 2010 only five homes within the former coal mining town remains occupied and their residents responded to the governor with lawsuits Accord according to their suits the Centralia mine fire was a little more than a massive fraud perpetrated by interests in what is conservatively estimated at hundreds of millions of dollars of some of the best anthracite coal in the world they accused the Commonwealth of eliminating Centralia as an entity after which the right to the call would go to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to monitor the fire the State Board holes deep into the ground beginning during the early radiation efforts in the 1960s additional holes have been bored by federal and private entities to the extent that over two thousand holes monitoring the fire it spread and the toxic gases it creates penetrate the surface in and around what was once the borough of Centralia since 1996 the fire has continued to spread as of 2022 the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania maintains warnings on a website dedicated to the fire and its history the site warns the area encompassed by the Centralia mine far is extremely dangerous walking and or driving in the immediate area could result in serious injury or death despite the Pennsylvania Department of environment mental protections dep strong warnings to remain clear of the area it has become an attraction for tourists environmentalists ghost down Buffs and just the Curious according to the Pennsylvania dep most experts agree the far could be extinguished by excavation and flooding but funds available for such actions are insufficient to accomplish the task of the same situation encountered in the mid-1960s there is little to be done other than to Simply Let the Fire Burn itself out what was once Centralia is a landscape of abandoned driveways and streets with some foundations of former structure still visible vegetation is burnt away through Subterranean Heat or the effects of toxic gases roadways have sunk into the ground some to the depth of several feet pavement is cracked with gaping areas emitting visible gases as well as invisible carbon monoxide [Music] Pennsylvania Route 61 once ran through the town of Centralia connecting it with the outside world it was once a road bustling with the trucks which carried the coal mined in the area to customers pa-61 entered Centralia from the south for travelers heading north and west across the Pennsylvania coal country that is it entered Centralia until 1993 when a repeated and extensive damage to the road from the fires burning beneath it led authorities to divert the through route to a parallel road to the South the section of roads that remained that were banned under vehicle traffic became a popular diversion for visitors those curious about the abandoned and seemingly doomed Town used the road bed for bicycling and walking even as the pavement continued to buckle Heath and crumple most visitors to Centralia were not welcomed by the Commonwealth which posted signs warning of the dangers inherent to the area no trespassing signs also dotted the area but for the rest of the decade visitors to Centralia came to view the wreckage of the Town vandalism and trespassing became commoner characters in the area some visitors began to paint the remaining surface of the road with signs greeted things to others political opinions pictures and other forms of graffiti it became known regionally and on websites devoted to such Pursuits as the graffiti Highway though it was no longer accessible to Vehicles while commercial traffic continued on pa-61's new alignment to the South the abandoned section of Road became a favorite destination of those determined to visit Centralia and to document the fact that they had pictures of smoke and steam emerging through the road and the graffiti covering its crumbling pavement appeared online and in social media in 2020 what remained of the former pa-61 route to Centralia disappeared from view the pavement covered over with dirt and Rubble to further discourage visitors to the area according to news reports at the time plans to further cover the area over the old road with trees and other vegetation were announced though they have yet to come to fruition graffiti Highway like the rest of Centralia is now lost to time graffiti Highway and the vandalism be it attracted led to resistance from the few remaining residents of Centralia numbering five as of 2016. their resistance led to the roadway being covered as a Crackdown on visitors four cemeteries existent and trailer and family members and other loved ones have legitimate interest in returning to the former town to visit them and take care of the graves at least or one the Odd Fellow Cemetery has been reported to have occurrences of steam smoke or gases being visible among the graves when graffiti appeared among the headstones as well as other reported accidentalism centralia's five remaining residents demanded action technically the residents of little league were standing the entire town was condemned under eminent domain and although they remain in what were their homes before the condemnation the entire town and all the land within it belongs to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania the latter is chosen thus far not to initiate forced eviction proceedings thus the residents remain in an uncertain legal status in the remains of a town which no longer legally exists while the ground literally moves beneath their feet driven by an uncontrollable fire the absence of residents in the town and the depressed prices of anthracite coal have all but eliminated any impetus towards extinguishing the far experts agree that the fire could be extinguished but the cost of doing so outweighs the benefits about 95 of anthracite coal deposits in the United States are located in the eastern Pennsylvania coal Fields their value steadily decreasing for a century it was excessive costs which led to the stoppage of efforts to extinguish the fire in the mid-1960s obviously the costs would be even higher these days and the state simply lacks the resources to renew efforts to put out the fire with just a handful of residents remaining there is also no political pressure to take further action [Music] foreign despite burning for six decades obliterating the town above ground and drawing thousands of curious visitors to the region the Centralia Coal Fire is yet to kill anybody according to experts there have been near-misses such as young Todd dobronski nearly being swallowed by a carbon monoxide-filled hole that opened beneath him despite the lack of fatalities there have been health problems attributed to the far most of which have come from former and current residents or visitors to the region in 1984 the Pennsylvania State University conducted a study through the Milton S Hershey Medical Center on the then remaining residents around Centralia their findings confirmed what had long been reported Centralia residents suffered from Health ailments at a higher rate than in nearby towns not affected by the fire some would relatively minor complaints such as burning itching eyes and sinuses others more severe including debilitating headaches and upper respiratory problems Pennsylvania cited the findings as partial justification for condemning the town [Music] in 1998 writer Bill Bryson published a walk in the woods a rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail the book described his efforts to hike the trail in 1996. Brighton skipped large sections of the trail and never fully completed the journey but on one of the sections he completed he detoured through Centralia his impressions of the Town appeared in the book he described o one of the church is still standing in the town as sound and usable though surrounded by smoke hovering wisply off the ground he also described a large smoldering pit behind the church a vast cauldron perhaps an acre in extent which was emitting thick cloud-like pure white smoke Brighton found several houses which appeared occupied including some of which are children's toys scattered about their lawns but he found no residence of the town and nobody answered his knocks on several doors in his book he wrote so today 1996 Centralia isn't really even a ghost town it's just a big open space with the grid of empty Street still severely finished with stops lines and fire hydrants so there I've been to date no fatalities directly attributed to the fire beneath Centralia the town itself was killed off by the coal theme park today it has no zip code was removed in 2002 no connection via roads to other towns no services and it exists solely as a place name on maps it is dotted with signs warning of the dangers presented to those visiting the area meanwhile the anthracite called beneath the ground continues to burn and likely will do until it's entirely consumed estimates vary but some say the fire will burn for another two and a half centuries how far it will spread is unknown [Music]

Channel: Geographics

Views: 213,186

Keywords: centralia mine fire, underground mine fire, centralia landfill, coal mine fire, centralia pennsylvania, centralia, industrial disaster, mine fire, coal-seam fire, lehigh valley coal company, weird history, abandoned town, history documentary, history

Id: 3ihQdAkQRss

Length: 20min 19sec (1219 seconds)

Published: Wed May 17 2023