Centralia

In May 1962, a fire started at the dump in Centralia PA and caught an underground vein of coal. The fire went mostly unnoticed until people started developing health problems in the 70s and one gas station owner discovered his underground tanks were being superheated by the fire. In 1981, a 12 year old boy nearly fell through the ground when a sinkhole developed in his backyard. The government relocated most the town members and the town is mostly evacuated today though some have stayed and still live in the abandoned, smoking town. Estimates on how much coal remains to be burned before the fire burns itself out are between 250 and 1000 years.

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MUSICIANS
David Wechsler – Vocals, Piano
Doug Stone – Backing vocals, Guitar
Gerald Menke – Pedal Steel Guitar
Curtis Eller – Banjo
Claudia Chopek – Violin
Jane Scarpantoni – Cello
J.D. Foster – Bass
Bill Gerstel – Drums

Music and Lyrics by David Wechsler