WorldWide Drilling Resource

A Town Ablaze Adapted from Information Centraliapa.org Throughout history, cities rise and fall, but every city or town has a story to tel l concerning its beginning and in s ome c a s e s i t s e n d . Ce n t r a l i a , Pennsylvania, was once a booming coal mining establishment in the late 1800s and early 1900s. The town was formed in 1842, after Alexander Rea, a mining engineer, moved his family to the area and began drawing up plans for a net- work of streets and lots. Large scale mining began in 1854, when the Mine Run Railroad was completed, allowing for vast quantities of anthracite coal to be efficiently transported out of the mountains. Mining camps quickly start- ed to spring up in the surrounding forests as people flocked to the town. By 1890, Centralia’s population had risen to around 2800 people, and the town had 5 hotels, 27 saloons, 7 churches, 2 theaters, 14 grocery stores, a bank, and a post office. In the early 1920s, the town started to decline, but coal mining was slow to die in the region and continued into the 1960s, keeping Centralia stable. However, things would change forever in 1962, when Centralia’s landfill was set on fire to help clean it up in prepa- ration for the upcoming celebration. Unfortunately, the landfill site was above an old mining strip. When the fire wasn’t fully extinguished, it entered the abandoned mines around the pit. The fire grew and spread as efforts failed to control the blaze beneath the town. While drilling, it was discovered the fire had reached depths of 225 feet, which meant any efforts to control the blaze with trenches would not be effective. Different experimental barriers were used, but nothing had any success. As the fire creeped below residential areas, the people living in the town faced threats, which lead to homeowners accepting buyouts to move elsewhere, and eventually buildings were simply condemned and residents asked to move. After people left, their homes were leveled, return- ing the landscape of Centralia to wilderness. A few families fought to keep their homes, and in 2013, a settlement was reached which allows the handful of people to remain as long as they live. Except for streets, only a few homes, a church, and several graveyards remain in the ghost town of Centralia. The mine fire beneath the town continues to burn, traveling approximately 75 feet per year. Based on estimates of the amount of remaining coal, some expect the fire to rage for another 250 years. WWDR repor ted on last years cleanup efforts in the September issue of the magazine. 46 AUGUST 2017 WorldWide Drilling Resource ® Thanks, I have been read- ing your mag now for many years. My Dad got it at my address, Dad passed away back in Nov. 06 of 2011, he was a lifelong well driller. I miss him very much! I look forward to your new mags and all the stories inside each one! Larry Plant City Florida