Centralia is slowly disappearing, because it's on fire - underground - and has been for decades.
Eighty-nine-year-old Lamar Mervine is one of the few who refuse to leave. He is also the town's mayor: "I like it here. I was born here. I think I'm going to die here."
The fire started back in 1962. The town had just finished celebrating Memorial Day and was burning some trash in what was a landfill. The fire spread underground, into an unknown coal vein, and has been burning ever since.
Attempts to extinguish the fire failed. Some believe it was set on purpose, and left to burn, so that mining companies could one day seize millions of dollars in coal deposits. There is little evidence to support that claim.
In some areas of the town, you can actually see the smoke rise from the ground. It smells of sulfur. It is said to be toxic. If you put your hand down there, you can feel the heat.
The state condemned the land and lured former residents to leave with buyouts. Their homes were then demolished.
Nearly 100 years after it was founded, there are only a few town relics left: a park bench, the borough hall, and old Route 61, re-routed in 1993 because the fires kept causing the road to buckle and sink.
State environmental officials say the 11 holdouts, are in danger. Tom Rathbun/Department Of Environmental Protection: "What it's burning is the coal that's holding up the surface. And so, the ground can collapse suddenly, with no warning. And so people who are walking around up there are putting themselves in great danger. "
Kutztown University professor Deryl Johnson has written books about Centralia. Along with its lore, he says the fire has a lot of life, and could burn for generations.
Deryl Johnson/Centralia Researcher: "Some say about 1000 years. It depends on where it goes from here. It seems to be moving down this ridge."
The fire has also made this desolate place a tourist attraction. The curious come here in disbelief.
Will Main/Toms River, New Jersey: "I just thought it was pretty interesting that the fact that there's a fire underground, for how many years?"
Larry Youngblood/Toms River, New Jersey: "It's very odd to think that they could get rid of a whole town, destroy it, because there's a fire underground."
Mayor Lamar Mervine: "That fire will never bother us. No, no."
Centralia has always been his home. At 89, why would he want to start over again? His neighborhood is quiet, there is little crime, and there's no haggling during town meetings.
