Some of you may remember photos I posted about a year and a half ago from Centralia, PA. If you're not familiar with the town, it was a typical coal-country town in northeast PA, about an hour from Wilkes-Barre. In 1962, an underground coal vein was ignited, and despite attempts to extinguish the fire, it continued to burn and spread throughout the coal mines that crisscrossed the area. Finally, in the early 1980s, a number of sink holes and subsidences opened up, and the full extent of the fire was realized. The federal government bought out most of the residents, and pay their relocation costs. Today the town has fewer than 10 residents, down from a high of 2,500 at the time the fire began. The town itself consists primarily of empty streets and sidewalks, with most of the buildings gone.
Here is one shot from my January 2009 visit - smoke from the fire can be seen rising out of the ground.
On Sunday, I made another stop in the town. The smoke wasn't as visible in the warmer weather. I did meet a crew from the History Channel, filming a show for that network. Just outside of town, Route 61 was a four-lane highway that headed south to the nearby town of Ashland. After several sections of the roadway buckled and split open, approximately three quarters of a mile of the highway was closed, and a two-lane road built to the east.
Heading south on the closed section of highway, the road appears to be in serviceable, if unmaintained, condition. Grass and weeds have sprung up along the sides and in the center median, but the pavement is still intact.
About one half mile south of the northern end, you come across the first real signs of the damage caused by the fire. This fissure, some thirty feet long, one to two feet deep, and two to three feet wide, is evidence of the fire in the mountain below.
About a hundred yards further down the road, a section has buckled due to the shifting ground below. This gives you an idea of how much the road surface has shifted.
The other thing you notice is the incredible amount of graffiti on the road - some of it profound, much of it profane. While I was there, there were about a dozen other people checking out the roadway, with people coming and going the whole time. These days, curious sightseers outnumber the few residents who struggle to hold on to their homes.
My full gallery, including photos from both visits, can be seen here:
http://www.moose135photography.com/Penn ... 0891_23q4G
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