06/15/2026
The Centralia Mine Fire, 1962 — The Town That’s Still Burning
In 1962, a fire accidentally ignited in an abandoned coal mine beneath the small town of Centralia, Pennsylvania. What seemed like a manageable blaze soon spread through underground coal seams, creating a disaster that authorities could not stop.
Over the following decades, toxic gases, sinkholes, and rising ground temperatures forced nearly all residents to leave. Roads cracked apart, steam rose from the earth, and the once-thriving community became one of America's most famous ghost towns.
More than 60 years later, the fire is still burning beneath Centralia and could continue for centuries. The disaster remains one of the strangest and most enduring environmental catastrophes in U.S. history.