The city was baptized Centralia, and raised enough with the exploration of coal.
Then it happened ... no one knows for sure how ... But the fact is that in May 1962 a fire was started in a garbage dump over an open coal.
In vain the population tried to extinguish the fire and finally decided to wait for the fire to end by itself.
In June of that year the mines were still smoldering and it was found that the heat, instead of decreasing, was increasing! The fire spread to the coal seams reaching alarming proportions.
Over the months the residents were feeling the effects of the fire. As trees and vegetation around languished, the ground was hot and now and then, jets of steam emerged from it. But what killed the city was the financial effects. As the mines were paralyzed, the workers ran out of money and the ones that could, left the city. But some stayed hoping that the problem would be solved.
Areas of the city were isolated, whole families removed from their homes, roads were blocked.
In 1980 the fire was still burning! Geologists have confirmed that it was impossible to extinguish the fire!
In 1981 an accident caused the greatest tumult in the city. A man was walking around and the ground opened beneath his feet. He fell into a giant hole and managed to hold the roots of some trees and was saved by his cousin. This event attracted media attention and government efforts to find a solution... it was spent more than 40 million to try to extinguish the fire...
Years passed and what was a beautiful city became a ghost town that no longer exists on the maps.
Now, more than 40 years later, the underground of the city is still on fire!
If you want to know more information about it visit Centralia´s webpage.
No comments:
Post a Comment