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American Morning
Trash Fire in Mines of Centralia, Pennsylvania Still Burning
Aired May 31, 2002 - 08:34 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: We'll talk about a story out of Pennsylvania this morning. The residents of a Pennsylvania town are marking an anniversary of sorts today. The few residents who are left, that is. Forty years ago, a trash fire broke out in the mines of Centralia, Pennsylvania. That fire is still burning, and the once thriving town of 1,100 is a virtual ghost town, with only 15 diehards remaining.
And CNN's Jeanne Meserve joins us now from Centralia.
So, Jeanne, what's going on there today?
Good morning.
JEANNE MESERVE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Paula, you blew the surprise. You told them where I was. I thought maybe I could persuade people I was on another planet here. This is steam that's venting up from the coal mine fire, which is burning a couple of hundred feet underneath me here. To give you a better understanding of what we're talking about, we went underground.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MESERVE (voice-over): Dark, and damp and deep, the Pioneer Tunnel was once an active coal mine.
HOWIE SMITH: This is the top rock. This is the bottom rock. In between the two strata of rocks lays the vein of coal.
MESERVE: Here, 1,800 feet into the side of a mountain in next door Ashland, you can see what is fueling the Centralia fire.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is the Buck Mountain Vein. It happens to be the one burning over in Centralia.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The vein of coal runs right underneath the town of Ashland, basins out underneath the town of Ashland, takes pitch again, and comes back up on the next mountain two miles north of us, which is Centralia.
MESERVE: The coal in the Big Buck Vein is not the common vetuminous variety. This is anthracite.
You can see by looking at that coal on the car there, why this anthracite coal got its name black diamonds. It's the purest, best valuable coal in the world, and it is about 90 percent carbon.
MESERVE: It is, in other words, excellent fuel, and with old mine tunnels like this one snaking through Centralia providing plenty of oxygen, experts say the Big Buck could burn for another century.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
And joining me here is Stan Michelsky (ph). He is with GAI Consulting, and also an expert on mine fires. This isn't the only mine fire that's burning, is it?
STAN MICHELSKY (ph), GAI CONSULTING: No. There are mine fires all over the world. Underground mine fires occur wherever coal is mined, and it's one of the most costly coal mining problems to fix.
MESERVE: And some of these problems are huge, aren't they?
MICHELSKY (ph): Some are very huge. This is a relatively small fire compared to fires in western China and in India, and even South Africa.
MESERVE: What kind of threat do they pose?
MICHELSKY (ph): They pose threats to the health and safety of people, they destroy property, and consume a valuable resource.
MESERVE: Now you studied this fire years ago. Why didn't somebody put it out?
MICHELSKY (ph): Several options were determined for this fire, and the reason it actually wasn't put out was because of the cost.
MESERVE: How much would it have cost?
MICHELSKY (ph): About $600 million back in 1983.
MESERVE: And so today, how much?
MICHELSKY (ph): Today would be much more, I would think.
MESERVE: OK, Stan Michelsky (ph), GAI Consulting. Thanks a lot for joining us. One of the things that does make this fire so very interesting is what you mentioned, Paula, it has displaced a town. Over here, there is a valley. You might be able to make out a house or two back there. Only about 15 people are still living here. It used to be a town of 1,500. We'll tell you more about that as the day progresses.
Paula, back to you.
ZAHN: Yes, you just wonder what their quality of life is there. I mean, there must be a reason why they're sticking around, Jeanne.
MESERVE: Well, they're staying here, because a lot of these people were born here, raised here, and they just love it. ZAHN: Good for them. All right, Jeanne, we'll look forward to the rest of your reports later on today. Thanks so much.
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