As of the census[41] of 2000, there were 21 people, ten households, and seven families residing in the borough. The population density was 87.5 inhabitants per square mile (33.8/km2). There were 16 housing units at an average density of 66.7 inhabitants per square mile (25.8/km2). The racial makeup of the borough was 100% white.

There were ten... See more

Its population declined from 1,000 in 1980 to five residents in 2020[8] because a coal mine fire has been burning beneath the borough since 1962.

The borough, by law, was responsible for installing a fire-resistant clay barrier between each layer of the landfill,[16] but fell behind schedule, leaving the barrier incomplete. This allowed the hot coals to penetrate the coal seam underneath the pit and start the subsequent subterranean fire.[17][18]

Although there was physical, visible evidence of the fire, residents of Centralia were bitterly divided over the question of whether or not the fire posed a direct threat to the town. In The Real Disaster is Above Ground, Steve Kroll-Smith and Steve Couch identified at least six community groups, each organized around varying interpretations of the... See more

Statewide attention to the fire began to increase, culminating on February 14, 1981, when a 12-year-old resident named Todd Domboski fell into a sinkhole, 4 feet (1.2 m) wide by 150 feet (46 m) deep, that suddenly opened beneath his feet in his grandmother’s backyard, but saved himself by grabbing onto a tree root. His cousin, 14-year-old Eric... See more

Analysts disagree about the specific cause of the Centralia fire. David Dekok, author of Fire Underground: The Ongoing Tragedy of the Centralia Mine Fire , concluded that it started with an attempt to clean up the town landfill. In May 1962, the Centralia Borough Council hired five members of the volunteer fire company to clean up the town... See more

The underground fire is still burning, and in 2006 it was reported that it is expected to do so for another 250 years.[20]

The median income for a household in the borough was $23,750, and the median income for a family was $28,750. The per capita income for the borough was $16,083. All of the population was below the poverty line.

The damaged portion of PA Route 61 was abandoned, and became known as Graffiti Highway.[31] Access berms were placed at both ends of the former route, effectively blocking off the area permanently to vehicular traffic. Pedestrian traffic was still possible due to small openings about two feet wide at the northern and southern terminus of the... See more