In 1962 an exposed vein of coal in an abandoned strip mine caught on fire on the eastern side of Pennsylvania and it burned under ground for...

...what is it today? 2010?

For 48 years.

For 48 years the vein burned, getting its oxygen from an abandoned coal mine. And it burns today, still venting noxious, toxic gasses out of the earth, bleaching trees, killing the vegetation and wildlife, creating sink holes when the underground coal is turned to ash.

And here we come to the fate of the once quaint town of Centralia, Pennsylvania, which stands right atop the burning vein.

Settled in 1841, the city's population hovered near 2000 for much of its existence.

Now just 9 people live there. In the year 2002 the US Post Office revoked its zip code.