Centralia

Only 16 homes were still standing by 2006, which was reduced to eleven by 2009 when Governor Ed Rendell began the formal eviction of the remaining Centralia residents. Only five homes remained by 2010.[23]

In 1992, Pennsylvania governor Bob Casey invoked eminent domain on all property in the borough, condemning all the buildings within. A subsequent legal effort by residents to overturn the action failed.

In 1979, locals became aware of the scale of the problem when a gas-station owner, then-mayor John Coddington, inserted a dipstick into one of his underground tanks to check the fuel level. When he withdrew it, it seemed hot. He lowered a thermometer into the tank on a string and was shocked to discover that the temperature of the gasoline in the t... See more

The last remaining house on Locust Avenue was demolished in September 2007. It was notable for a period for the five chimney-like support buttresses along each of two opposite sides of the house.

The remaining church in the borough, the town's Ukrainian Catholic church, the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, remains in use. It holds weekly services on Sundays and attracts worshippers from surrounding towns including people who were once residents of the town. It has not yet been directly affected by the fire. A geological survey found t... See more

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 abando... See more

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.

Several current and former Centralia residents believe the state's eminent domain claim was a plot to gain the mineral rights to the anthracite coal beneath the borough. Residents have asserted its value to be in the hundreds of millions of dollars, although the exact amount of coal is not known.[29][23][35][36]

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.