Emergency Crime Scene and Biohazard Cleanup in Centralia, PA

Centralia is a borough in Columbia County, Pennsylvania, in the heart of the state's anthracite coal region, and it is part of the Bloomsburg-Berwick metropolitan area.

Centralia was incorporated as a borough in 1866 and grew into a busy anthracite mining town after the Mine Run Railroad was built into the valley in 1854 and the first mines opened in 1856.

At its peak in the 1890 census, Centralia had 2,761 residents, along with seven churches, five hotels, 27 saloons, two theaters, a bank, a post office, and 14 general and grocery stores.

An underground coal mine fire has been burning beneath Centralia since May 1962, when it is believed to have started from trash being burned at a landfill in an abandoned strip mine pit; the fire was first reported on May 27, 1962.

Centralia's population fell from 1,017 residents in 1980 to just five residents in the 2020 census, making it the least-populated municipality in Pennsylvania.

In December 1983, Congress appropriated $42 million to relocate Centralia residents away from the fire, and nearly all of them accepted buyouts and left.

In 1992, all real estate in Centralia was claimed under eminent domain and condemned by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

A 2013 settlement allowed Centralia's last remaining residents to live in their homes for the rest of their lives, after which the properties pass to the state.

The U.S. Postal Service discontinued Centralia's ZIP code, 17927, in 2002, and mail for the borough now uses the ZIP code of neighboring Ashland, 17921.

Experts estimate the Centralia mine fire could keep burning for another 250 years before it exhausts the coal fueling it.