Environment

Dispatches From the Town That's Always on Fire

The deserted town of Centralia, Pennsylvania, has been smoldering for 53 years after a dump-burn gone wrong.
An underground coal-seam fire continues to smolder in Centralia, Pennsylvania. Mredden/Wikimedia Commons

It’s known as “the town that’s always on fire.” That’s because Centralia, an abandoned coal-mining town tucked away in eastern Pennsylvania, has been burning for 53 years. And according to this new video from Atlas Obscura’s series 100 Wonders, it won’t stop smoldering for another 250 years.