Centralia, PA Trip - April 5th

The trip was actually pretty fun, but disappointing all the same. I travelled to Centralia about 10 years ago with my family and my other friend's family and there was a lot more to see. A few houses were still standing, 12 lawnchairs circled a tree (12 people lived there at the time), and streets were still accessible. This time around, Centralia has officially become a ghost town. From what I could see, only 2 houses were still standing. The tree was replaced by a memorial and a nice green bench. Sad. However, steam was still visible from the hills surrounding the town. The streets weren't steaming though (maybe the fire moved?). I took some pictures for you all to see...

A big chunk of land sinking from the coal fire...

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A view of the hill where most of the steam was coming from

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Houses used to be behind these trees. This is the only patch of ground where

the trees look this way. Pretty weird.

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This is Route 61. This section of highway is blocked off due to the coal fire damaging and cracking the asphault. There is graffiti everywhere. When I was here 10 years ago, I was able to see steam coming from the cracks. The fire has probably moved since then.

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The beginning of the blocked off Route 61. The arrows you see behind the
grassy knoll is the detour road. Someone has dubbed this section of
Route 61 as "Graffiti Highway."

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A blocked off trail leading through the woods. My conscience told me not to go very
far on this path. The smell of sulfur was pretty strong. I chose life.

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This used to be part of the town. Now its just gravel/coal trails having really
no purpose at all. The burning coal was definitely making its presence
known due to the sulfur smell. I wonder what sort of chemicals were in the puddles?

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Here is another area I found where the ground is sinking.
A house definitely was here at one point. The driveway is off to the right.

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I found the steam! The fire is alive.

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I was definitely overcome by the fumes of the fire burning.
I honestly don't recommend anyone getting this close to the fire...

What to take away from this...

1. Be safe. The ground is unstable. Driving your car around the deserted streets and trails is not a safe bet to take. I would park your car on an undamaged street and walk to wherever you would like to go.
2. Go while you still can! There were only 2 homes left in the town when I went. I don't give the town much longer until its completely leveled and blocked off from public access.
3. Don't burn landfills that are on top of a coal vein.
4. Do not go too far on blocked off trails. The fire is pretty strong and the burnt coal releases sulfur, methane, carbon, nitrogen, and radioactive chemicals into the air. Unless you want some sort of lung/throat/thyroid disease, do your best to keep away from the fire.