Bennett M. Judkins

The Real Disaster is above Ground: A Mine Fire and Social Conflict.

In the 1950s Centralia was a small town, like many others, in the anthracite region of Pennsylvania. But since the 1960s, it has been consumed, outwardly and inwardly, by a fire that has inexorably spread in the abandoned mines beneath it. The earth smokes, subsides, and breathes poisonous gases. No less destructive has been the spread of dissension and enmity among the townspeople. This is a book about that disaster and about the tragic failure of all efforts to counter it. This study of the Centralia fire represents that most thorough canvass of the documentary materials and the community that has appeared. The authors report on the futile efforts of residents to reach a common understanding of an underground threat that was not readily visible and invited multiple interpretations.