America’s burning ghost town: The Pennsylvania ghost town that has been burning since 1962, left with only 5 residents and a fire that may last another century

Deep beneath the abandoned streets of Centralia, Pennsylvania, a fire has been burning for more than six decades. What began as a routine landfill blaze in 1962 slowly transformed into one of the longest-running underground fires in United States history, forcing an entire community to disappear and turning a once-thriving coal town into one of America’s most famous ghost towns.

Today, Centralia looks nothing like the busy mining borough it once was. Empty roads cut through fields where houses once stood, vegetation has reclaimed former neighborhoods, and only a handful of people remain. According to the 2020 US Census, just five residents still live in the borough, a dramatic fall from the more than 1,000 people who once called Centralia home.

Infamously called ‘America’s own Chernobyl’, the comparison is not because of a nuclear disaster, but because of how a hidden underground catastrophe reshaped an entire community and left behind a place where the danger still exists beneath the surface.


More than 60 years after it began, Centralia’s underground fire continues to smoulder, and it could potentially keep burning for decades or even another century as per the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

Centralia’s rise: The coal town built above a hidden resource

Long before it became a ghost town, Centralia was a typical Pennsylvania coal-mining community. The borough, located in Columbia County in eastern Pennsylvania, was founded in the 19th century after large deposits of anthracite coal were discovered beneath the region. Officially incorporated in 1866, Centralia grew around coal mining, which became the foundation of its economy and daily life.

At its peak, the town had churches, schools, businesses, restaurants, grocery stores and hundreds of homes. Generations of families worked in the mines that surrounded the borough, and coal provided the community with prosperity for decades.

But beneath Centralia’s streets was a network of abandoned mine tunnels and coal seams, the same geological conditions that would later allow a small fire to become an unstoppable underground disaster.

The 1962 landfill fire that changed everything

The disaster began in May 1962, when a fire was intentionally set at the Centralia landfill as part of a cleanup operation before Memorial Day. The landfill was located in an abandoned strip mine pit near the town. Officials believed the fire had been extinguished after burning debris was cleared and water was used to put out the flames.

But the fire had spread beyond the surface. Through cracks and openings connected to abandoned coal mines, the flames reached underground coal deposits. Once the coal seam caught fire, it created a self-sustaining underground blaze that was extremely difficult to control.

Unlike a normal surface fire, the Centralia blaze moved slowly through underground coal layers. Oxygen flowing through old mining tunnels helped keep it alive, allowing it to spread beneath roads, properties and parts of the surrounding area.

Attempts were made over the years to stop the fire, including digging trenches and removing burning coal. However, officials discovered that completely extinguishing it would require enormous excavation efforts costing millions of dollars, an option considered impractical.

Warning signs appeared as the underground fire spread

For years, residents continued living above the fire, but the warning signs became increasingly difficult to ignore. The ground beneath Centralia grew dangerously hot in places. Smoke and steam escaped through cracks in roads and fields. Residents reported unusual smells, and concerns grew about toxic gases released from the burning coal.

One of the most serious incidents occurred in 1981, when 12-year-old Todd Domboski fell into a sinkhole that suddenly opened beneath his grandmother’s backyard.

The hole, estimated to be several dozen feet deep, exposed a dangerous underground cavity releasing carbon monoxide and heat. Domboski was pulled to safety by his cousin, but the incident became a turning point in the debate over whether residents could continue living in the town.

The government evacuation and the disappearance of a borough

By the 1980s, state and federal officials concluded that relocating residents was safer than attempting to permanently extinguish the underground fire. In 1984, the US Congress allocated more than $42 million for a relocation program that allowed Centralia residents to voluntarily move away. Hundreds of families accepted buyouts, and most homes were abandoned.

In 1992, Pennsylvania Governor Bob Casey approved the condemnation of remaining properties through eminent domain, effectively declaring much of Centralia uninhabitable. The majority of residents left, but not everyone agreed to abandon their hometown.

Some residents argued that the dangers were exaggerated and fought to remain. Over time, only a small group continued living in Centralia.

A 2013 legal settlement allowed eight residents to stay in their homes for the rest of their lives, while the state retained ownership of much of the condemned property. The town’s population collapse has been dramatic:

• 1950: More than 1,900 residents
• 1960: Around 1,400 residents
• 2020: Only 5 residents

Centralia was not the only community affected by the underground fire. Nearby mining settlements, including Byrnesville and Germantown, were also abandoned as concerns grew over the spread of the blaze, underground instability and safety risks.

The ghost town that inspired Silent Hill

Centralia’s story helped inspire the fictional setting of the 2006 horror film Silent Hill. The movie’s creators drew from the town’s abandoned streets, underground fire and strange atmosphere while developing the fictional version of Silent Hill, a place covered in ash and surrounded by mystery.

Although set in West Virginia, Screenwriter Roger Avary cites Centralia as a creative influence.

How long will Centralia continue burning?

The exact future of the fire remains uncertain. Underground coal fires are notoriously difficult to predict because they move through complex networks of coal deposits and mine tunnels. Some estimates suggest Centralia’s fire could continue for another 100 years, while others believe it could last even longer if enough fuel and oxygen remain available.

The fire today is less visible than it was decades ago. Large clouds of smoke no longer dominate the landscape as they once did, but underground heat and gases remain evidence that the blaze has not disappeared.

Extinguishing the fire completely would require removing vast quantities of burning coal and disrupting the underground pathways that allow it to survive, a process considered too expensive and technically challenging.