Centralia, Pennsylvania
Turkmenistan isn’t the only place with a massive fire burning underground. Centralia, Pennsylvania, was a thriving community that became a ghost town after the deposit of anthracite coal beneath it caught fire in 1962. The likely source of ignition was an attempt to clean up the town dump that spread to the veins of coal underneath.
The fire there is less dramatic than the Gateway to Hell in that it’s largely underground. But over the years, the landscape has taken an otherworldly quality as noxious smoke has emerged from cracks like volcanic fumaroles. With no way to put the fire out, some research indicates it could burn for centuries to come. Because of the risks of carbon monoxide along with the collapse of underground mining shafts, community members have trickled away and houses have been razed.
