CENTRALIA, Pa. - Fifty years ago on Sunday, a fire at the town dump ignited an exposed coal seam, setting off a chain of events that eventually led to the demolition of nearly every building in Centralia - a whole community of 1,400 simply gone.
You sure it isn't Valkenvania?
All these decades later, the Centralia fire still burns. It also maintains its grip on the popular imagination, drawing visitors from around the world who come to gawk at twisted, buckled Route 61, at the sulfurous steam rising intermittently from ground that’s warm to the touch, at the empty, lonely streets where nature has reclaimed what coal-industry money once built.
It’s a macabre story that has long provided fodder for books, movies, and plays - the latest one debuting in March at a theater in New York.
Yet to the handful of residents who still occupy Centralia, who keep their houses tidy and their lawns mowed, this borough in the mountains of northeastern Pennsylvania is no sideshow attraction. It’s home, and they would like to keep it that way.
Every state seems to have one, 'eh?
“That’s all anybody wanted from day one,’’ said Tom Hynoski, who is among the plaintiffs in a federal civil rights lawsuit aimed at blocking the state of Pennsylvania from evicting them.
Centralia was already a coal-mining town in decline when the Fire Department set the town’s landfill ablaze on May 27, 1962, in an ill-fated attempt to tidy up for Memorial Day. The fire wound up igniting the coal outcropping and, over the years, spread to the vast network of mines beneath homes and businesses, threatening residents with poisonous gases and dangerous sinkholes.
After a contentious battle over the future of the town, the side that wanted to evacuate won out. By the end of the 1980s, more than 1,000 people had moved and 500 structures had been demolished under a $42 million federal relocation program.
But some holdouts refused to go - even after their houses were seized through eminent domain in the early 1990s. They said the fire posed little danger to their part of town, accused government officials and mining companies of a plot to grab the rights to billions of dollars’ worth of anthracite coal, and vowed to stay put.
I wouldn't doubt it!
After years of letting them be, state officials decided a few years ago to take possession of the homes. The state Department of Community and Economic Development said Friday that it is in negotiations with one of the five remaining homeowners; the others are continuing to resist, pleading their case in federal court.
Residents say the state has better things to spend its money on. A sign along the road blasts Governor Tom Corbett, the latest chief executive to inherit a mess that goes back decades.
“You and your staff are making budget cuts everywhere,’’ the sign says. “How can you allow [the state] to waste money trying to force these residents out of their homes? These people want to pay their taxes and be left alone and live where they choose!’’
Isn't that what America is supposed to be all about?
Whether it’s safe to live there is subject to debate.
Tim Altares, a geologist with the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, said that while temperatures in monitoring boreholes are down, the blaze still poses a threat because it has the potential to open up new paths for deadly gases to reach the remaining homes.
Nonsense, say residents who point out they have lived for decades without incident.
Carl Womer, 88, whose late wife, Helen, was the leader of a faction that fiercely resisted the government buyout, disagrees the fire poses any threat.
“What mine fire?’’ Womer asked dismissively.
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Can't they put the fire out with water?
Whadda ya' mean the WATER BURNS?
"Strong wind forces evacuation order
ALBUQUERQUE - Residents near a privately owned New Mexico ghost town were ordered Saturday to leave their homes as a blaze in the Gila National Forest continued to burn erratically.
See: New Mexico's Smart Tech Ghost Town
Fire officials said Saturday that the Whitewater-Baldy Complex fire has shrunk slightly to 82,000 acres but is still burning out of control because of weather conditions. In Colorado, fire crews began fighting a new fire along the Utah state line (AP)."
"Smoke from wildfire envelops parts of New Mexico, Ariz." by Russell Contreras | Associated Press, May 26, 2012
ALBUQUERQUE - Wildfires cast a pall over Memorial Day weekend in parts of the West Friday as smoke from a massive New Mexico blaze prompted widespread air-quality warnings and high fire danger in Colorado spurred officials to put thousands of firefighters on standby.
The privately owned ghost town of Mogollon was placed under a voluntary evacuation order as firefighters worked to tame the wildfire in the southwestern New Mexico woods, which has grown to 85,000 acres or more than 130 square miles.
Two lightning-sparked fires merged Wednesday to form the
giant Gila Wilderness blaze, which has destroyed 12 cabins and seven
small outbuildings. The Baldy fire was first spotted May 9 and the
Whitewater blaze was sparked May 16, but nearly all of the growth has
come in recent days due to relentless winds.
The strong winds pushed ash 35 to 40 miles away, while smoke from the giant fire spread across the state and into Arizona. The haze blocked views of the Sandia Mountains in Albuquerque, and a smell of smoke permeated the air throughout northern New Mexico.
Health officials as far away as Albuquerque and Santa Fe issued alerts for the holiday weekend, advising people to limit outdoor activities and keep windows closed. They said the effects on most people would be minor but noted mild throat and eye irritation or allergy-like symptoms could be expected. Officials warned people with heart and lung conditions to be especially diligent in minimizing their exposure to the smoky air.
Meanwhile, in Colorado, officials said heavy air tankers and thousands of firefighters were on standby as fire managers kept a close watch on high winds and hot temperatures at the start of Memorial Day weekend. Fire danger remains high in the southern Colorado foothills and the South Park area.
South Park is a real place?
Two heavy air tankers have been taken to Grand Junction in western Colorado, where the fire danger is highest, US Forest Service spokesman Steve Segin said.
Related: Colorado Clippings
“We’ve got the resources. We’ve got the firefighters,’’ Segin said. “We’re ready.’’
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