A fire has been burning under this Pennsylvania ghost town for more than 60 years - take a look

"Over 60 years ago, Centralia, Pennsylvania, was a bustling coal mining town, home to more than 1,000 people. Today, the once-thriving community is a smoldering expanse of overgrown streets, cracked pavements, and charred trees where streams of toxic gas spew into the air from hundreds of fissures in the ground. Just a handful of residents remain. A fire in 1962 spread from a landfill to the labyrinth of coal mines beneath the town, essentially creating a giant underground inferno that still rages,"

"although virtually invisible from the surface. After expensive efforts to put out the expansive fire proved unsuccessful, the US government decided to buy up the homes of people living in the town and relocate its residents. A handful of residents, however, resisted, leading to a decades-long battle to stay in the town and their homes. The small group was ultimately able to stay in the town until their deaths, even though officials say the fire could burn for at least another 100 years."

Centralia, Pennsylvania, transformed from a coal mining town of more than 1,000 people into an overgrown, partly abandoned area with cracked roads and charred trees where toxic gas escapes from ground fissures. A 1962 fire spread from a landfill into the coal-mine network beneath the town, creating an underground blaze that continues to burn. Expensive suppression efforts failed, and the US government spent $43 million to buy and relocate residents in 1983. A small group resisted relocation and remained for decades; officials estimate the underground fire could continue burning for at least another century.

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