David DeKok says that the borough's deliberate burning of trash on May 27 to clean up the landfill in the former strip mine ignited a coal seam via an unsealed opening in the trash pit, which allowed the fire to enter the labyrinth of abandoned coal mines beneath Centralia.
In February 1866, Centralia Borough was incorporated. The Centralia Mine Fire has been burning in the abandoned deep mine workings of the Buck Mountain Coal Bed since May 1962. The fire reportedly originated as an intentional controlled burning of residential trash in an abandoned strip pit (surface mine).
It's 300 feet underground and 1,000 °F. Any water or snow that reaches that deep would instantly evaporate into steam. There isn't a shaft, the coal seam is on fire and isn't accessible. Smoke doesn't even escape anymore because the fire is too deep.
The federal government announced in 1983 that it would cost too much and destroy too much of Centralia to dig out the fire. Congress then appropriated $42 million to relocate anyone who wanted to leave; the fire was allowed to burn. Today, fewer than six people remain and most of the town has been demolished.
Centralia (/sɛnˈtreɪliə/ sen-TRAY-li-ə) is a borough and near-ghost town in Columbia County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is part of Northeastern Pennsylvania. Its population declined from 1,000 in 1980 to five residents in 2020 because of a coal mine fire burning beneath the borough since 1962.
In fact, you're officially not encouraged to go there at all. But you can do so, since those public roads still go through the ex-town and many of the former side streets are still navigable by car. And of course you can walk around.
The Centralia fire probably got going in May 1962, when local sanitation workers began burning trash at a site over an old mine entrance just outside town, igniting the underlying coal. Over some 20 years, firefighters tried eight times to put it out. First they dug trenches, but the fire outpaced them.
It is burning at depths of up to 300 feet (90 m) over an 8-mile (13 km) stretch of 3,700 acres (15 km2). At its current rate, it could continue to burn for over 250 years.
Class D Fires
While Class D isn't as common, they can be more difficult to extinguish. They typically involve combustible metals such as magnesium, lithium, potassium, and titanium. This type of fire is more commonly seen in laboratories.
Over 60 years ago, Centralia, Pennsylvania, was a bustling coal mining town, home to more than 1,000 people. Today, the once-thriving community is a smoldering expanse of overgrown streets, cracked pavements, and charred trees where streams of toxic gas spew into the air from hundreds of fissures in the ground.
The World's Longest-Burning Manmade Fire Has Remained Alight Since 470 AD. In the heart of central Iran, a small fire has done something no power plant ever could: it's kept burning for more than 1,500 years.
The Centralia Mine Fire is coal seam fire that has been burning underneath Centralia since at least May 27, 1962. The original cause of the fire is still a matter of debate. The fire is burning in underground mines at depths of up to 300 feet over an 8-mile stretch of 3,700 acres.
Around 90% of all wildfires are caused by human activities, such as unattended campfires, discarded cigarettes, arson, and equipment use, with natural causes like lightning making up the remaining 10% for wildfires; for structure fires, cooking, heating, electrical issues, smoking, and candles are top culprits. Human carelessness, accidental or intentional, is the overwhelming driver of destructive fires, notes National Geographic and Vesternet.
On March 25, 1947, the Centralia No. 5 coal mine exploded near the town of Centralia, Illinois, killing 111 people. The Mine Safety and Health Administration of the United States Department of Labor reported the explosion was caused when an underburdened shot or blown-out shot ignited coal dust.
A CBC meteorologist reminded his audience of the 30-30-30 rule of thumb for Canadian fire — fires burn actively with 30 C temperature, 30% humidity, and 30 kph winds. “That's a good rule of thumb in the boreal, and it was certainly met in Fort McMurray.”
The NFPA's data shows that 25 wildfires in U.S. history have killed at least 10 people, including Hawaii's Lahaina fire of 2023 and major California fires in 2017, 2018, and 2020. But none have been deadlier than the Peshtigo fire in October 1871, the world's deadliest wildfire.
Nitrocellulose: a fire with no burns | MEL Chemistry.
The Centralia fire has been burning through an abandoned deep mine in Pennsylvania's Buck Mountain Coal Bed since May of 1962. Due to a poorly conducted shale barrier intended to keep combustible materials out of the mine, the fire spread quickly throughout the underground coal mine system and hasn't stopped since.
Centralia is a borough located in Columbia County, Pennsylvania. Centralia has a 2025 population of 4 .
It's just not feasible due to the types of fuels, the amount of heat they hold, and the access and egress issues on and near the fire perimeter.
At petrol pumps and airports, there is more probability of fire break out due to oil. In such situations, soda-acid fire extinguisher does not work as it contains water or uses water to take off fire by cooling down the place. Water being heavier than oil sinks to bottom and hence, fire does not get controlled.
There's enough fuel for it to burn for another 250 years. Some geologists even think it could burn for another 1000 years. It all started when the town council needed to get rid off the landfill before Memorial Day, so they decided to burn the trash.