Centralia, PA NOTE: I was originally going to post this in the wagons in vintage street scenes thread but felt it would be better suited here.
I've heard about that town. Has one remaining resident - the mayor, who refused to leave. The Fire was caused by the mining operations themselves. Apparently it's virtually impossible to put the coal fire out.
I also remember this from many years ago. If I remember correctly(?) the evacuation of the town really started after a child was burned and almost sucked up by the ground collapsing while in a school yard. Memory fails when it comes to the whole story but this town is a scary weird true story.
That thing is STILL on fire?? I bet this was the inspiration for the Simpson's Springfield tire fire. and and :confused:
Don't hold me to this but IIRC the fires will continue burning for 200+ years... Reminds me of Picher, OK. Although it isn't burning it is evacuated... poisoned by the mines underneath there. I had some semi-distant family that once lived in Picher.
It COULD be worse; at least it isn't (very) radioactive. http://www.kiddofspeed.com/chernobyl-revisited/chapter2.html
Picher, OK was built over one of the largest lead mines in the US. Three reasons the town was abandoned four years ago: 1) A tornado decimated the town in 2008. 2) The chad piles (tailings from the lead mining) leach poisons into the ground water; and 3) The mines themselves are collapsing under the town. Residents were bought out for ridiculously low money, and the remaining buildings were mostly bulldozed. Just down the road is the town of Commerce, OK. Most famous as the birthplace of Mickey Mantle.
Interesting stuff. Did a report on Superfund sites in high school 1000 years ago. Studies about Centrailia, and also Love Canal in New York, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Love_Canal , and also Time Beach Mo. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Times_Beach,_Missouri All interesting reads! -Mike
Im sure some one will remember the name, I saw a history chanel program about a town very close to San Diego Cal That had a beautiful lake, in the 50's turned into a resort town with marina, golf, the works and many residents and was flourishing. Some time in the late 60's (if I remember) the fish in the lake started dying to the point of 10's of thousands of fish were washing up on shore and along with the stench the lake became badly polluted. They came to realize it was rain water run off carrying pesticides from farmers fields. It completely killed the town and residents literally walked away from there homes etc. It's a skeleton ghost town now.
On a much smaller scale, the little town of Pekin,Illinois just down from Peoria, has many old coal mine shafts under portions of it. On the north side many residents homes are slowly cracking and sinking. Very sloooowly. Sadly several friends can't sell for those reasons. I often wondered about the poison from coal fumes too. They still live there. We lived on the south side.......... On the OTHER SIDE of the tracks. I suppose we were white trash but no one knew it back then!
81X11: Its funny you mentioned Times Beach, MO. I read about it and it the article it mentioned NEPACCO. Quote from the article: "NEPACCO operated a facility producing hexachlorophene in Verona, Missouri. Some parts of the facility had been used for the production of Agent Orange during the Vietnam War, and the waste clay and water contained levels of dioxin some 2,000 times higher than the dioxin content in Agent Orange." I used to live in Verona. Tedy: I believe the place you're talking about is Palm Springs near the Salton Sea. It had been mentioned in an episode of Life After People: episode 'Holiday Hell'. Cool series.
Found it Tedy The Apocalypse came early for the Salton Riviera http://www.messynessychic.com/2012/...came-early-for-the-salton-riviera-california/
The fire in Centralia was caused by people dumping trash, which started the fire. They thought it would burn itself out, but it got into a coal vein, and at that point there was no putting it out. The fire now is so big, that you can see smoke coming out of the ground miles away. The state bought all the homes but a few people refused to leave. I go through the place quite a bit, and there are about 6 or 7 houses still being lived in. When someone dies, the state comes right in and tears it down.
