Centralia

Centralia PA made the news quite a bit in the late 70s and early 80s when I liven in Pennsylvania, famous fo rthe undergorund fire that had been burning for almost 20 years at that point.

It's good to know that, in the intervening 25 years the free market has finally solved the problem, the fires are out and land value in Centralia is on the rise.

Oh, wait a minute...

In 1983, there was fire under about 350 surface acres. By 1991, this area had been increased by about three-quarters. Worst case scenario would be about 3700 acres and possibly a hundred years. Finally 26 homes along Route 61 west of town were bought in April of 1991. There were no further plans to fight the fire. The population of Centralia as of 4/18/97 was 44 people and has dwindled since. There are just a few scattered homes today remaining in the town along with the borough hall. The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania owns the remaining homes. The monetary value of each property is in escrow or tied up in the legal system. Until the remaining people move, the future of this town is unknown. The State is being very lenient at this time. The State owns the homes but the remaining people are still paying the property taxes on the houses.

Looks like neither the government nor the free markets have a workable solution here.