The burning town of Centralia

Chapter 1

The spark in the coal

Chapter 2

The science of a subterranean fire

Chapter 3

Life on a boiling crust

Chapter 4

The ghost town and its legacy

YOUR GOAL

Master of The burning town of Centralia

Ch 3 · Life on a boiling crust

hank

hank Centralia

Burning below, burning below! The fire still has centuries to go!

Aug 8

hank

hank The sinkhole that swallowed Todd Domboski

Aug 8

hank

The sinkhole that swallowed Todd Domboski

hank A twelve-year-old boy's narrow escape in 1981 galvanized national attention.

Aug 8

hank

hank A local gas station owner discovered his underground tanks were boiling.

Aug 8

hank

BETA

hank Dodge smoking sinkholes to discover how residents survived atop a burning coal mine.

Aug 8

hank

Fun Fact

Winter tomatoes: In the 1970s, some Centralia residents grew fresh tomatoes in the dead of winter because the ground stayed so warm.

Aug 8

hank

Gossip

Would you accept a buyout?

Aug 8

hank

Quiz

What legal power did the state of Pennsylvania use in 1992 to seize all property in Centralia?

Aug 8

hank

hank The gas station that nearly exploded

Aug 8

hank

Quiz

How much money did the U.S. Congress allocate in 1983 to relocate the residents of Centralia?

Aug 8

hank

hank Warm basements and winter gardens

Aug 8

hank

Quiz

Where did most of the relocated residents of Centralia move to in the 1980s?

Aug 8

hank

hank The great relocation debate

Aug 8

hank

Quiz

What did gas station owner John Coddington find in his underground fuel tanks in 1979?

Aug 8

hank

Quiz

In what year did the remaining Centralia holdouts reach a settlement allowing them to stay for life?

Aug 8

hank

Quiz

Who was the 12-year-old boy who famously fell into a Centralia sinkhole in 1981?

Aug 8

hank

Quiz

What danger did the sinkhole that swallowed Todd Domboski present besides the heat?

Aug 8

hank

Quiz

Why did some Centralia residents initially enjoy the warm ground in the winter?

Aug 8