The US town that has had an underground fire burning for nearly 60 years!

And the former mayor above has refused to move along with another 10 residents. This true story inspired the film and video game Silent Hill.

A tale of human stupidity when they decided to start the fire without making sure it was safe first!

Sinéad Baker and Dina Spector

Updated

Sep 9, 2019, 4:06 PM

An underground coal fire has raged for 57 years in Centralia, Pennsylvania, turning a bustling mining town into what is almost a ghost town, with fewer than 10 residents.
Residents lived with noxious fumes and dangerous sink holes, and the government eventually bought people's homes and relocated them after failing to put out the fire.
But some residents fought for decades to stay, arguing that this was their home, and that the government wanted the town's coal.
They were ultimately victorious, and they live in the few remaining buildings where the government took away the zip code and tourists provide deep frustration.
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Almost 60 years ago, Centralia, Pennsylvania was a bustling coal mining town, home to more than 1,000 people.

Today, the once-thriving community is a smoldering expanse of overgrown streets, cracked pavement, and charred trees where streams of toxic gas spew into the air from hundreds of fissures in the ground.

A fire in 1962 spread from a landfill to the labyrinth of coal mines beneath the town, essentially creating a giant underground inferno that still rages, virtually invisible from the surface.

The US government ultimately decided to buy up the homes of people living in the town and relocate its residents, but a handful resisted, leading to a decades-long battle to stay in the town and their homes,

They were ultimately able to stay, even though officials say the fire could burn for at least another 100 years. In a 2006 interview, the then-mayor of the town, aged 90, said: "This is the only home I've ever owned, and I want to keep it."

This is what happened in Centralia and what it looks like today.

Centralia is a borough in the northeastern mountains of Pennsylvania. In 2002, the U.S. Postal Service revoked the town's ZIP code, 17927, causing problems for the few people that still lived there.

The son of one remaining resident told Cracked in 2017 that those who stayed in the town have to have post boxes in other towns, and struggle to even get food delivered to an area with no ZIP code.

A satellite view of the town shows that there are now almost no buildings left.

The once-bustling community has become a ghost town. This picture shows Locust Avenue, the town's main street, in October 1983 compared to in June 2000.

Smoke still rises up through cracks in the roads now, 57 years after the fire started. Officials say it could burn for at least another 100 years.

Source: BBC

In 1982, a resident named Tom Larkin showed how the heat rising from the ground could cook an egg in a skillet.

Frustration boiled among residents in the years after the fire, after a joint state and federal mission to put out the flames failed.

Many residents couldn't leave the town until federal help to relocate arrived.

Source: The New York Times

Sinkhole and piles of ash that look like even ground can cause injury and cause animals to get stuck and die, the son of a former resident said. One child even fell into a hole in 1981, and was lucky to survive.

Source: Centraliapa.org, Cracked

The government decided to evacuate the town in the 1980s, leading to the destruction of most of the buildings.

The US government spent $42 million buying residents' homes and relocating them.

Before that, $7 million was spent trying to put out the fire, but it didn't work.

Source: BBC

Now, near the highway, signs warns of dangers in the area.

And the branch of Route 61 that runs through the town was permanently closed when it became too expensive to repair. The road was diverted around the town instead.

But some residents have fought long and hard to stay in the town.

In a 2006 interview, 90-year-old Lamar Mervine, then the mayor of the town, spoke of how he and his wife wanted to stay in the town, even as the state wanted to take the property.

"I remember when the state came and said they wanted our house," he said. "She took one look at that man and said, 'They're not getting it.'"

"This is the only home I've ever owned, and I want to keep it," he said.

Some residents spent the next few decades fighting to keep their homes, even though they had officially been seized by authorities.

A handful filed a federal lawsuit, and said their part of the town was safe, accusing the government of wanting the town's coal.

Source: Associated Press

In 2013, the remaining residents won the right to stay in the town until they die. A settlement gave them ownership of their properties until their deaths — and included a $349,500 payout.

"They bent us, but they didn't break us," one resident then said.

Source: Associated Press

As of 2018, there were six residents left in the town.

Source: BBC

John Comarnisky, then a 53-year-old school teacher, told Reuters in 2008: "People have called it a ghost town, but I look at it as a town that’s now full of trees instead of people. And truth is, I’d rather have trees than people."

Centralia Pennsylcania — An old sign reading "Keep Centralia On The Map" is visible in the entrance of the closed Centralia Municipal Building in 2010.

Source: Reuters

Mervine, the mayor who stayed in the town, died in hospital in January 2010.

Source: Legacy.com

The town has become a tourist attraction, much to the frustration of remaining residents, and the roads are covered in graffiti. The town also inspired the 2006 horror film 'Silent Hill.'

One of the town's remaining residents, told Cracked in 2017 that tourists cause a lot of frustration for those who stayed behind.

"They'll walk on lawns and property freely, thinking it's abandoned. They'll always be asking, 'Why do you live here?' They dump trash everywhere ... The worst are the tourists who leave graffiti."

He said they even harm residents' property.

"They chipped at my house. For a souvenir, like they wanted a piece of the Lord's cross. Chip chip chip, and they took a part of my stairs. Then they wrote 'Let it burn' on it. Why would they do that?"

In 2014, current and former residents opened a time capsule that was supposed to be opened in 2016. Buried in 1966, organizers were worried about water damage, and much of what was inside was destroyed.

Centralia, Pennsyvania — A time capsule buried in Centralia, Pennsylvania, in 1966 is noted by this marker in the yard of the Centralia American Legion in 2007.

Lots of books, photos, and documents were inside.

One former resident said it "held great meaning to those Centralians still alive."

"Many were looking forward to its opening in 2016. It was to be a reunion of sorts."

From...https://www.businessinsider.com/photos-of-centralia-pennsylvania-burning-coal-town-2011-11?r=US&IR=T#in-2014-current-and-former-residents-opened-a-time-capsule-that-was-supposed-to-be-opened-in-2016-buried-in-1966-organizers-were-worried-about-water-damage-and-much-of-what-was-inside-was-destroyed-18

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