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See Again
© Shutterstock
0 / 29 Fotos
Centralia, PA - Once a thriving mining town home to over 1,000 people, the population of Centralia was last recorded as 9 (2019).
© Reuters
1 / 29 Fotos
It’s a near-ghost town - Now you’ll find eerily empty streets, broken fences, dead patches of grass, and tangled heaps of dead trees.
© Reuters
2 / 29 Fotos
It’s been burning for 60 years
- Some of its main, spooky draws are the deep pits with melted tires wedged in them, a myriad of danger and warning signs, and steamy sulfurous gases blowing out from cracked lips of concrete.
© DON EMMERT/AFP via Getty Images
3 / 29 Fotos
What sparked the everlasting flame?
- Burning garbage! In 1962, local sanitation workers began burning trash at a site over an old mine entrance by the town, igniting the honeycomb of underlying coal.
© DON EMMERT/AFP via Getty Images
4 / 29 Fotos
They could extinguish the fires above ground
- But a much bigger inferno seared underground, eventually spreading its destructive, fiery tendrils to the town center.
© Reuters
5 / 29 Fotos
At first it was harmless - The Smithsonian reports that residents recalled harvesting tomatoes at Christmas in their naturally heated gardens, and that they were relieved of shoveling snow.
© Reuters
6 / 29 Fotos
Calamity followed
- People started passing out in their homes from the carbon monoxide, the gas station tanks started heating dangerously, and a 12-year-old was practically swallowed up by a hole that opened in the ground of a neighbor's backyard.
© DON EMMERT/AFP via Getty Images
7 / 29 Fotos
It spreads uncontrollably and unpredictably
- The fire burns at depths of up to 300 ft and across 3,700 acres of land, creating huge holes in the ground big enough to swallow cars. Over some 20 years, firefighters tried to put it out eight times, by digging trenches, flushing the hole with wet sand and gravel, flooding it, and drilling holes, but nothing worked.
© Reuters
8 / 29 Fotos
How much coal exactly is there?
- The area is estimated to have enough coal to fuel the fire for another 250 years!
© Shutterstock
9 / 29 Fotos
No other option but to relocate
- In the ‘80s, a $42 million relocation plan was put into action to incentivize residents to move. It’s estimated that the total cost for putting out the fire would have cost $600 million.
© Shutterstock
10 / 29 Fotos
A handful of people stayed - Though experts advised against it, a few remained. They watch the tourists, lured in by the signs warning about danger and trespassing, stealing “souvenirs" in the form of those very same street signs.
© Reuters
11 / 29 Fotos
Residents try to maintain normalcy
- Even though their zip code was taken away in 2002, they still have municipal elections. The mayor (pictured) says he mows what used to be neighbors’ lawns “to keep things looking neat.”
© Reuters
12 / 29 Fotos
They opened a time capsule in 2014
- They opened it two years before they were supposed to, only to find that the contents from 1966—books, photos, mining gear, bibles—were severely water damaged.
© Reuters
13 / 29 Fotos
The Graffiti Highway
- The abandoned art-covered section of Route 61 has become a popular tourist destination, though it’s reported that in 2018 the road became private property, and it remains a notable reminder of Centralia’s disaster.
© Shutterstock
14 / 29 Fotos
And now: Green Bank, WV - Known as The Quietest Town in America, where there are no cell phones or Wi-Fi allowed, where radio stations are almost impossible to find, and where there are no stoplights in sight.
© Shutterstock
15 / 29 Fotos
Population: 143
- They couldn't stir up that much noise even if they wanted to with the few people they have. However they'd have a difficult time even if they wanted to tune in, as they’re in the middle of the country's National Radio Quiet Zone, where broadcast transmissions are highly regulated.
© Getty Images
16 / 29 Fotos
It looks like it never left the 1950s - There is one school, a knit and quilt store, one post office, a barbershop, one gas station, and the people still square dance.
© Shutterstock
17 / 29 Fotos
But it's also home to the Robert C. Byrd Green Bank Telescope
- It’s one of the world’s largest telescopes, as well as one of the most advanced in the world.
© Getty Images
18 / 29 Fotos
The telescope is pretty incredible - Also the world's largest steerable radio telescope, it weighs in at 17 million lbs, it’s two acres wide, and it soars 485 ft tall.
© Public Domain
19 / 29 Fotos
Project Breakthrough Starshot - In 2016, Stephen Hawking and Russian billionaire Yuri Milner joined forces to launch a $100 million 10-year search for life in outer space, using the Green Bank telescope.
© Shutterstock
20 / 29 Fotos
It’s very sensitive - The telescope can pick up sounds that are hundreds of millions of miles away, so, naturally, sounds from the town would be extremely amplified.
© Public Domain
21 / 29 Fotos
They use only diesel cars around the telescope
- A fleet of old diesel cars and trucks without built-in modern technology or spark-plugs are used for the site maintenance to minimize radio pollution around the telescope.
© Getty Images
22 / 29 Fotos
No microwaves or electronic doorbells - Even the faintest signals can cause problems with the scientists' research, including gadgets like electric heated blankets, but especially things like microwaves.
© Shutterstock
23 / 29 Fotos
Cell phones and Wi-Fi are prohibited - You can get in trouble with the law if you’re caught using wireless communication! The only internet access is via dial-up or an ethernet cable.
© Shutterstock
24 / 29 Fotos
The town is patrolled for noise
- Didn’t think they were serious? A white van drives around town with long antennae, searching for any interfering sound.
© Getty Images
25 / 29 Fotos
How do the residents feel? - They love it! The people call it an oasis from technology. Paradoxically, the town is made up of people who are escaping technology while fully supporting the advancement of it.
© Shutterstock
26 / 29 Fotos
It’s changed how they see modern phone use - Jay Lockman, the principal scientist of the telescope, said, “To tell you the truth it seems pretty strange and annoying to see people always diddling with their devices and not paying attention to what's going on around them.”
© Shutterstock
27 / 29 Fotos
They may be the first to find out about aliens - And they won’t have their cell phones to document it!
© Shutterstock
28 / 29 Fotos
© Shutterstock
0 / 29 Fotos
Centralia, PA - Once a thriving mining town home to over 1,000 people, the population of Centralia was last recorded as 9 (2019).
© Reuters
1 / 29 Fotos
It’s a near-ghost town - Now you’ll find eerily empty streets, broken fences, dead patches of grass, and tangled heaps of dead trees.
© Reuters
2 / 29 Fotos
It’s been burning for 60 years
- Some of its main, spooky draws are the deep pits with melted tires wedged in them, a myriad of danger and warning signs, and steamy sulfurous gases blowing out from cracked lips of concrete.
© DON EMMERT/AFP via Getty Images
3 / 29 Fotos
What sparked the everlasting flame?
- Burning garbage! In 1962, local sanitation workers began burning trash at a site over an old mine entrance by the town, igniting the honeycomb of underlying coal.
© DON EMMERT/AFP via Getty Images
4 / 29 Fotos
They could extinguish the fires above ground
- But a much bigger inferno seared underground, eventually spreading its destructive, fiery tendrils to the town center.
© Reuters
5 / 29 Fotos
At first it was harmless - The Smithsonian reports that residents recalled harvesting tomatoes at Christmas in their naturally heated gardens, and that they were relieved of shoveling snow.
© Reuters
6 / 29 Fotos
Calamity followed
- People started passing out in their homes from the carbon monoxide, the gas station tanks started heating dangerously, and a 12-year-old was practically swallowed up by a hole that opened in the ground of a neighbor's backyard.
© DON EMMERT/AFP via Getty Images
7 / 29 Fotos
It spreads uncontrollably and unpredictably
- The fire burns at depths of up to 300 ft and across 3,700 acres of land, creating huge holes in the ground big enough to swallow cars. Over some 20 years, firefighters tried to put it out eight times, by digging trenches, flushing the hole with wet sand and gravel, flooding it, and drilling holes, but nothing worked.
© Reuters
8 / 29 Fotos
How much coal exactly is there?
- The area is estimated to have enough coal to fuel the fire for another 250 years!
© Shutterstock
9 / 29 Fotos
No other option but to relocate
- In the ‘80s, a $42 million relocation plan was put into action to incentivize residents to move. It’s estimated that the total cost for putting out the fire would have cost $600 million.
© Shutterstock
10 / 29 Fotos
A handful of people stayed - Though experts advised against it, a few remained. They watch the tourists, lured in by the signs warning about danger and trespassing, stealing “souvenirs" in the form of those very same street signs.
© Reuters
11 / 29 Fotos
Residents try to maintain normalcy
- Even though their zip code was taken away in 2002, they still have municipal elections. The mayor (pictured) says he mows what used to be neighbors’ lawns “to keep things looking neat.”
© Reuters
12 / 29 Fotos
They opened a time capsule in 2014
- They opened it two years before they were supposed to, only to find that the contents from 1966—books, photos, mining gear, bibles—were severely water damaged.
© Reuters
13 / 29 Fotos
The Graffiti Highway
- The abandoned art-covered section of Route 61 has become a popular tourist destination, though it’s reported that in 2018 the road became private property, and it remains a notable reminder of Centralia’s disaster.
© Shutterstock
14 / 29 Fotos
And now: Green Bank, WV - Known as The Quietest Town in America, where there are no cell phones or Wi-Fi allowed, where radio stations are almost impossible to find, and where there are no stoplights in sight.
© Shutterstock
15 / 29 Fotos
Population: 143
- They couldn't stir up that much noise even if they wanted to with the few people they have. However they'd have a difficult time even if they wanted to tune in, as they’re in the middle of the country's National Radio Quiet Zone, where broadcast transmissions are highly regulated.
© Getty Images
16 / 29 Fotos
It looks like it never left the 1950s - There is one school, a knit and quilt store, one post office, a barbershop, one gas station, and the people still square dance.
© Shutterstock
17 / 29 Fotos
But it's also home to the Robert C. Byrd Green Bank Telescope
- It’s one of the world’s largest telescopes, as well as one of the most advanced in the world.
© Getty Images
18 / 29 Fotos
The telescope is pretty incredible - Also the world's largest steerable radio telescope, it weighs in at 17 million lbs, it’s two acres wide, and it soars 485 ft tall.
© Public Domain
19 / 29 Fotos
Project Breakthrough Starshot - In 2016, Stephen Hawking and Russian billionaire Yuri Milner joined forces to launch a $100 million 10-year search for life in outer space, using the Green Bank telescope.
© Shutterstock
20 / 29 Fotos
It’s very sensitive - The telescope can pick up sounds that are hundreds of millions of miles away, so, naturally, sounds from the town would be extremely amplified.
© Public Domain
21 / 29 Fotos
They use only diesel cars around the telescope
- A fleet of old diesel cars and trucks without built-in modern technology or spark-plugs are used for the site maintenance to minimize radio pollution around the telescope.
© Getty Images
22 / 29 Fotos
No microwaves or electronic doorbells - Even the faintest signals can cause problems with the scientists' research, including gadgets like electric heated blankets, but especially things like microwaves.
© Shutterstock
23 / 29 Fotos
Cell phones and Wi-Fi are prohibited - You can get in trouble with the law if you’re caught using wireless communication! The only internet access is via dial-up or an ethernet cable.
© Shutterstock
24 / 29 Fotos
The town is patrolled for noise
- Didn’t think they were serious? A white van drives around town with long antennae, searching for any interfering sound.
© Getty Images
25 / 29 Fotos
How do the residents feel? - They love it! The people call it an oasis from technology. Paradoxically, the town is made up of people who are escaping technology while fully supporting the advancement of it.
© Shutterstock
26 / 29 Fotos
It’s changed how they see modern phone use - Jay Lockman, the principal scientist of the telescope, said, “To tell you the truth it seems pretty strange and annoying to see people always diddling with their devices and not paying attention to what's going on around them.”
© Shutterstock
27 / 29 Fotos
They may be the first to find out about aliens - And they won’t have their cell phones to document it!
© Shutterstock
28 / 29 Fotos
A tale of two strange towns: America's quietest and fieriest
You won’t believe the conditions people are living in
© Shutterstock
The Quietest Town in America is where time froze pre-electronic era, where there are no cell phones or Wi-Fi—and yet it’s home to some of the most futuristic technology in the world. In another case, an old mining town called Centralia has been on fire for 56 years, and could burn for hundreds more. Check out this gallery to find out what on Earth these small towns are about.
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