Centralia, the Town Above a Fire
A coal fire has burned beneath a Pennsylvania town since 1962, and the town is now almost gone.
What was reported
In May 1962 a fire, probably started when rubbish was burned in an old strip mine, spread into the coal seams beneath Centralia, Pennsylvania. Attempts to put it out failed, and it spread through the abandoned mine tunnels.
Smoke and gas began to vent through cracks, and in 1981 a boy fell into a sinkhole that suddenly opened in a backyard; he survived. Most residents accepted buyouts in the 1980s, and the state later claimed the buildings.
Explanations offered
There's enough coal for the fire to burn for well over a century more. Only a handful of people still live there. The town is often said to have helped inspire the setting of Silent Hill.
- When
- Burning since 1962
- Where
- Centralia, Pennsylvania, USA
- Witnesses
- Former residents
- Status
- Explained
Famous cases are real, widely reported events. Each file sets out what witnesses said and the explanations that have been offered, without taking a side.