Wild story....
I just watched this on the History Channel and thought I'd share. Anyway, in 1962 the town of Centralia, PA was burning their garbage dump located next to an old coal mine shaft. It just so happens the mine cought fire and has been burning ever since! Despite the topic title, the fire will eventually go out,,,, in a hundred years or so!
I never knew something like this could even happen but it makes sense now. Theirs lots of fuel, AKA coal, up in em hills and with a little bit of oxygen, you've got an unstoppable fire. They made many attempts over the years to stop the fire but were unsuccessful.
The town has since been purchased by the federal government due to the exposure to carbon monoxide and other gasses seeping from the ground into homes yet a few dozen people still live there. (At least heating your home in the winter is cheap!) Smoke billows from the ground in many places, grass does not grow and you can boil water right on the soil.
Weird huh!
This may be old news to some folks but I never even imagined something like this could happen.
Still don't believe it?
Here's the link... http://www.offroaders.com/album/centralia/the-story.htm