What does a community do when underground coal catches fire? Easy – the government pays off everyone to leave, they rip down all the houses and call it a day. Well, at least that is the short of it after watching the documentary ‘The Town That Was ’ on Hulu today.
The map embedded here shows how Centralia is basically a big field full of streets at this point, abandoned by all by a handful of residents, squatting in their condemned homes.
Interestingly enough, the former town is surrounded by other small towns, presumably which could be affected by this underground fire, but they are all quite populated.
It’s a shame due to financial constraints, this was the easiest way out. If you wanna learn more about the interesting history and story, watch the full video after the break.
The Town That was
Additional Resource: Wikipedia; Map Content (C)2010 Google, et al.
