Centralia, Pennsylvania needs your help! A group of dedicated volunteers are planning to clean up what’s left of the town on October 25, 2014. You can support their efforts through this Indiegogo campaign. They are hoping to raise $600 to put towards the cleanup.
The money will pay for the volunteers’ food and water, as well as help offset the costs of the dumpsters, shovels, and rakes used to pickup the garbage. Supporters of the Indiegogo campaign are able to choose from a number of different gifts. These include a DVD copy of the short film Centralia: America’s Lost Town, David DeKok’s book Fire Underground, credits in an upcoming film about Centralia PA, and a poster for the film.
In addition to the money raised through Indiegogo, the cleanup effort is being graciously supported by EPCAMR (Eastern PA Coalition for Abandon Mine Reclamation), PEC NE Office, Bridgestone Tires, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and several others.
Centralia could certainly use a helping hand. Residents began leaving Centralia, Pennsylvania in the 1980s as part of the Mine Fire Acquisition Relocation Project. Today, the town is nearly abandoned except for a few homes, three cemeteries, a church, and the Centralia Municipal Building. It’s a virtual ghost town.
Over the years the story of Centralia PA has received widespread coverage, most notably as the inspiration for the 2006 film Silent Hill. This has turned the town into an offbeat tourist attraction whose popularity only continues to grow.
Along with visitors, piles of trash and other discarded waste have come to town as well. It’s unsightly and bad for the environment. Through the Centralia cleanup effort, it’s hoped that the town can be kept well-maintained for everyone looking to explore its empty streets and steaming mine fire.
