Centralia Fire Origin

USA / Pennsylvania / Centralia /
 landfill site / rubbish/garbage dump  Add category
The site of the new Centralia landfill, and origin of the Mine Fire back in 1960's. The cause of the fire is believed to be that the local fire department was cleaning the landfill for Memorial Day, and their method was to set it on fire. As a result, the fire spread to mines running underneath Centralia. The landfill has since been back-filled in an effort to combat the fire, and all that remains today is an empty stretch of land. A row of old vents can be seen along the edge, installed to prevent underground gases from building up to dangerous pressures.
Wikipedia article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centralia_mine_fire#Mine_fire
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Coordinates:   40°48'3"N   76°20'14"W
This article was last modified 8 years ago