Open Daily: 10am - 10pm | Alley door pickup 10am - 7pm 3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
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  • Open Daily: 10am - 10pm
    Alley-side Pickup: 10am - 7pm

    3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
    612-822-4611

Open Daily: 10am - 10pm | Alley-side Pickup: 10am - 7pm
3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
612-822-4611
Fire Underground: The Ongoing Tragedy of the Centralia Mine Fire

Fire Underground: The Ongoing Tragedy of the Centralia Mine Fire

Dekok, David

Paperback

Technology & EngineeringGeneral SociologyRegional: Middle Atlantic

ISBN10: 0762754273
ISBN13: 9780762754274
Publisher: Globe Pequot Publishing
Published: Oct 1 2009
Pages: 312
Weight: 0.85
Height: 0.90 Width: 5.90 Depth: 8.90
Language: English
How a modern-day mine disaster has turned a Pennsylvania community into a ghost town

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For much of its history, Centralia, Pennsylvania, had a population of around 2,000. By 1981, this had dwindled to just over 1,000--not unusual for a onetime mining town. But as of 2007, Centralia had the unwelcome distinction of being the state's tiniest municipality, with a population of nine. The reason: an underground fire that began in 1962 has decimated the town with smoke and toxic gases, and has since made history.

Fire Underground is the completely updated classic account of the fire that has been raging under Centralia for decades. David DeKok tells the story of how the fire actually began and how government officials failed to take effective action. By 1981 the fire was spewing deadly gases into homes. A twelve-year-old boy dropped into a steaming hole as a congressman toured nearby. DeKok describes how the people of Centralia banded together to finally win relocation funds--and he reveals what has happened to the few remaining residents as the fiftieth anniversary of the fire's beginning nears.

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