Centralia

A near-ghost town in Columbia County whose population declined from 1,000 in 1980 to just 5 residents in 2020. In 1962, a coal mine fire was accidentally ignited and has been burning beneath the town ever since. Fueled by an estimated 25 million tons of coal, the fire is projected to burn for at least 250 years.

Centralia was once a thriving coal town of over 2,700 residents in Columbia County. On May 27, 1962, firefighters set a landfill ablaze to clean it up—a routine practice—but this time the fire was not fully extinguished. An unsealed opening in the pit allowed flames to enter the labyrinth of abandoned coal mines beneath the town, igniting an underground inferno that continues burning today. Fueled by an estimated 25 million tons of coal, the fire has caused temperatures in some areas to exceed 900 degrees Fahrenheit, with experts predicting it will burn for another 250 years.

The consequences were devastating. Toxic gases including carbon monoxide began seeping through cracks in the ground. Sinkholes opened without warning—in 1981, twelve-year-old Todd Domboski nearly died when a 150-foot-deep sinkhole suddenly opened beneath his feet in his grandmother's backyard. The ground became too dangerous and unstable for habitation. In 1984, Congress allocated million for relocation, and by 1992 all real estate was condemned through eminent domain. The Postal Service discontinued Centralia's ZIP code in 2002.

Today, Centralia is a ghost town of overgrown streets, abandoned foundations, and steam rising eerily from cracks in the earth. From a population of 1,000 in 1980, only five residents remained as of 2020—elderly holdouts who negotiated the right to stay until death, after which their homes will be seized. The only surviving building in regular use is the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Ukrainian Catholic church, which sits on solid rock rather than coal and holds weekly services.

Visitors report an unsettling atmosphere—wisps of smoke rising from the ground, the smell of sulfur, and an oppressive silence broken only by wind through empty streets. The town's apocalyptic appearance inspired the 2006 horror film Silent Hill, though the fictional setting was moved to West Virginia. Ghost hunters and urban explorers are drawn to Centralia's abandoned stretches of Route 61 (now nicknamed "Graffiti Highway" before being buried in 2020), where the cracked, steaming pavement feels like walking through another dimension.

Warning: The ground remains unstable with hidden sinkholes, and toxic gases can reach dangerous levels. Many areas are strictly off-limits.