How Long Will Centralia’s Coal Seam Fire Burn?

Steam rising from old Route 61 in Centralia, Pennsylvania. Credit: Flickr/mdesjardin

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14 Responses

  1. Martin E. Caulfield says:

    My family members once live in Centralia, A family of 9! My grand father was a coal miner, he had a accident, lost his arm and was work terminated. The family departed for Phila. by train. My father was born in 1903 one block from a coal mine in a local house. The area was in front of the Orthodox Greek/Russian Church. My last visit to Centralia was in 1994.

    • Patrick Caulfield says:

      Martin, I was just looking through a family history written by my grandfather and I believe we may be distant relatives. My grandfather wrote the same story about his grandfather losing his hand in the mines and then moving to Philadelphia. If you get this, find me on Facebook Patrick Caulfield (Maryland Institute College of Art).

  2. Kaylee says:

    I wish I could revitalize this town. It’d be so cool to see it rebuilt 🙂

  3. Kathryn Hildebrandt says:

    The thought of the waste of fuel and contribution to climate change makes me sad.

  4. Dee Sugalski says:

    I grew up in luzerne cty. Newport Twp. Glen Lyon pa. Surrounded by mine fires. It smelled like sulpher. Centralia is to be pitied…such a lovely town.

  5. samantha watts says:

    i feel better for you and i hope they stop it too i live in dover pa it is good here come and live here.

  6. FRIEND OF GOD says:

    Can numerous “carbon dioxide bombs” put the fire out ?

    Can cruize missles blow some dirt over the buring areas ?

    Can heat resistant bull dozers push dirt over the buring areas ?

    • gabriel says:

      have you witness a burning sulphur before, if no. thats what centralia fire looks like, i have carried numerous research about it.

      • L says:

        Wouldn’t installing year long greenhouses be a possibility ?

        I’m guessing with such a unfortunate source of heat underground, the energy could be used to grow things.

  7. Global warming says:

    Put this out, global warming

  8. Thomas says:

    How the compost treats the developing plant is how joy helps a discouraged soul… How outrage treats an individual is how a corrosive treats its compartment.

  9. Johannes Potapski says:

    I don’t think it is realistic that this fire will ever be put out by anyone before it runs out of fuel by itself. I don’t even know how you would do it. You would need to find and close any hole in the ground oxygen can get in while endangering yourself to gases and falling into a sinkhole. Maybe you could block the biggest holes and pump a really large volume of non-oxygen gas (probably nitrogen) into one opening for a few days, but I doubt this would be enough.

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