Centralia, PA...The town that was (and is)

Gregg Obst
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Centralia, PA...The town that was (and is)
Centralia, PA...The town that was (and is)

I've been doing research on the mining town of Centralia, PA as a possible photography location for several years now. I used to drive through the town on my way back from trips out to Selinsgrove Speedway and every time I would go through, less and less houses were standing. Why, you might ask, are the town's houses vanishing ? In 1962 the local fire department was told to burn some municipal trash at an open pit next to one of the town's cemeteries. Unknown to the firemen at the time, was the fact that the pit met up with an open exposed coal seam which ignited from the trash fire. Over the next several days, several attempts were made to douse the flames but all were futile. The coal seam led under sections of the town and contains enough coal to feed the underground mine fire for several centuries.

The town's citizens fought with various levels of government agencies and bureaucrats, varied plans were thought up, some acted on unsuccessfully, other plans canceled due to lack of funding. Over the years, deadly carbon monoxide readings went off the scale in some areas of the town while other areas seemed completely unaffected. Finally, the federal government offered a home buy out plan to the town's citizens in the early 1990s. Most of the town's citizens took the offer and moved to nearby Ashland and other small surrounding communities. A once thriving mining community of low to middle class laborers that boasted a population of 2,200 before the fire, was now down to less than 20 people. Most of the town's streets remain but all but a handful of houses were razed as part of the government buyout.

The fire still burns, over 45 years later.

There are several excellent books on Centralia that really give a detailed account of the fire, the lives of the people of Centralia before and during the fire and the snail's pace that government bureaucracy operates at. I, personally like "The Day The Earth Caved In" by Joan Quigley. She really paints a thorough picture of the lives of all involved in this tragic story.

There are several good videos on Centralia and the underground mine fire on You Tube including this one. Check it out for a good overview of the town and the fire. NOTE: They have the 1962 population wrong in this video but it's still pretty good none the less.

I took this on Saturday afternoon 3-14-2009. Processed as a single RAW image through Photomatix Pro to make an HDR.

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Taken on: March 14, 2009
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Sets appears in:   • Centralia, PA   
Groups appears in:   • Pennsylvania    • Centralia   
Camera: NIKON D300, f/14.0, 1/250 sec, 18mm, ISO 200 (more info) (hide info)
Camera: NIKON D300
Aperture: f/14.0
Exposure Time: 0.004 sec (1/250)
Focal Length: 18mm
ISO: 200
Color Space: Uncalibrated
Software: Adobe Photoshop CS4 Windows
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