More than 40 years since an underground fire began burning, the town of Centralia, Pennsylvania has all but disappeared. Leaving behind only grave yards, dead trees, empty plots of land from former houses, plumes of smoke from the fire below, and of course.. the few Centralians who have stayed put. This video blog entry was recorded last month, during my visit to Centralia. It features both my and my brother’s testimony, as we surveyed the few traces of a once vibrant community and the fire that still burns underground.
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When you first hear that a fire has been burning beneath a town since the 60’s, it is hard to imagine. It would be even harder to live in that town, to see things destroyed or simply disappear. But that is just what has happened in Centralia, Pennsylvania and those fires are still burning. But not everyone is gone and beyond that.. people have become interested in Centralia, what happened and what lessons can be learned. My guest today is Georgie Roland, one of the directors of the new documentary about Centralia “The Town That Was”.
We Discuss:
– How Georgie first decided to focus on centralia
– His visits to Centralia
– The story of how the fires started
– What happenned to the community
– The remaining residents
– The possible scenarios for the future
– How people live
– Lessons for the future
– Eminent Domain
(and more, so listen to the program!)
Centralia on Wikipedia
I spoke about a message board, but I don’t have the link so nevermind.