Katharina Buczek
And shortly after this realization, residents began to suffer from putrid odors and noticed smoke seeping out of the ground surrounding the landfill.
The town council was even forced to contract a mine inspector, who reported that “a fire of unknown origin” had been blazing underneath the town.
Afterward, fire departments throughout Pennsylvania worked tirelessly to try and stop the fire’s spread.
They first tried to dig out trenches that could expose the flames for extinguishing. Then, they attempted to flush out the fire using a concoction of water and crushed rocks.
Tragically, though, none of these efforts ever worked, and the budget for Centralia’s fire containment quickly ran out– running thousands of residents out of town with it.
Still, in the 1980s, about one thousand residents refused to leave the town. Instead, they found the silver lining of living among the hot and smoky ground. For example, some enjoyed never having to shovel snow off the sidewalks, while others liked that the heat allowed for tomatoes to grow in the dead of winter.
Regardless of these “upsides,” though, many residents also experienced the fatal effects of the eternal fire.
Some homeowners passed out in their homes due to carbon monoxide poisoning. Trees and wildlife also began to perish from the smoky air and ash-turned ground.
And the real tragedy began in February of 1981 when Centralia’s remaining residents witnessed the opening of a massive sinkhole.
Twelve-year-old resident Todd Domboski had been standing outside when, all of a sudden, a sinkhole one hundred and fifty feet deep emerged underneath him.
The child only survived since he was miraculously able to grab an exposed tree root and hang on until his cousin arrived to rescue him.
