America's 'Jharia': Centralia Burns for 60 Years, Fire to Last Centuries

• Centralia, Pennsylvania, has an underground coal mine fire raging since May 27, 1962, similar to India's Jharia.
• The fire, which started from burning trash in an open pit, spread to an 8 million-ton underground coal seam.
• Once a thriving mining town, Centralia became a ghost town due with cracked roads, toxic gas emissions, and ground collapses.
• The government initiated evacuation in the 1980s, buying and demolishing homes under a $42 million plan.
• Today, only 4-10 residents remain, and the fire is estimated to burn for another 250 years.

Why It Matters: Centralia, Pennsylvania, is a ghost town due to an underground coal mine fire burning for over 60 years.