Pennsylvania Town Burning Underground Since 1962

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 Centralia

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

hank The sinkhole that swallowed Todd Domboski

The sinkhole that swallowed Todd Domboski

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

The gas station that nearly exploded

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

Hot Little Holdouts

BETA

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

Fun Fact

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

Gossip

Would you accept a buyout?

Quiz

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

hank The gas station that nearly exploded

Quiz

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

hank Warm basements and winter gardens

Quiz

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

hank The great relocation debate

Quiz

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

Quiz

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

Quiz

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

Quiz

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

Quiz

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