In 1962, firemen in the Pennsylvanian mining town of Centralia successfully extinguished a minor blaze at a landfill dump – but little did they know a layer of coal just below the surface had ignited, creating a hidden and deadly inferno that raged undetected beneath the town for almost twenty years.

will probably burn for centuries if enough coal.

I wouldn't say Centralia has been forgotten. I've seen it on Weird USA. It's also been the inspiration for the movie "Silent Hill" and my favorite author Dean Koontz wrote about a similar town in his book of short stories titled "Strange Highways" in which it is the feature story. Whenever I hear Centralia mentioned my mind rushes to the Strange Highways.
Thanks for posting this~ I love having great memories prodded into resurfacing.

I read such a story too, where the fire event was placed in the Black Hills. But this was a burning coal seam along a crag. The coal fire needs oxygene - so it can burn only at the surface. In Russia they have such fires too. And Marco Polo reports everlasting burning coal mountains and asphalt lake along the silk road in Iran or Usbekistan at his first trip to China.
At the pictures above it seems to burn inside the mine - I'll google for this to realize it!
Thanks so much for clipping!

wow

Unbelievable! Thanks for the great clip..