The Fire That Never Went Out…
Jimi Hendrix
The fire started in a landfill over a seam of coal, in May of 1962 and just never stopped burning. At the time, residents including the town’s fire department thought the fire would just burn itself out.
Later that year, the Department of Environmental Resources was called in to monitor the fire. They bored holes to check things out. It appears the holes may have actually allowed the fire to have sufficient oxygen to continue on. The coal fueled the fire and the problems just got worse.
Families started to move out of town in 1969. A trench was dug to try to contain the fire. Debris and ash were used to stop the the blaze. It really was to little, to late.
Town residents began to use gas monitors to determine the health effects of the fire. Slowly more people decided to abandon Centralia.
The Fire in Centralia
By 1980, more families had left. The U.S. Bureau of Mines declared the fire had not been controlled and showed little evidence of ever going out.
In 1981, 12 year old,Todd Domboski, was almost killed, when a sinkhole caused by the fire nearly ended his life. The story brought National attention to the plight of the residents of Centralia.
Over the years there was a slow exodus out of town. Most townspeople decided to pack up and leave. The state bought their homes.
A few diehards have remained in Centralia, hoping against hope the fire will subside. It burns to this very day. Centralia has become a modern day ghost town. There is a fascinating story about the plight of Centalia at Offroaders.
Joan Quigle, recently released “The Day the Earth Caved In; An American Mining Tragedy” which chronicles the entire tale. She is the granddaughter and great granddaughter of Centalia miners. She presents a unique spin on the ineptitude of the state and federal government, and the greed of large corporations. Through it all the residents of Centralia just want their town back.
Albert Grande, Bimwah-in-Training
http://albertgrande.com/
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