# The City That No One Can Erase

Have you ever imagined an entire city being consumed by fire... for 60 consecutive years? That's the case of Centralia, in the USA.

It all started in 1962 with a decision that seemed simple: to burn trash before a tribute to the soldiers. No one expected that there was an abandoned coal mine right underneath that dump. The fire descended, spread through the tunnels, and simply never stopped.

The numbers are surreal:
- 1,200 residents → only 5 remain
- US$ 40 million spent trying to erase
- 500°C temperature underground
- Forecast: it may burn for another 200 years

The worst part? In 1981, the ground literally swallowed a boy. He was saved by his cousin, but he was never the same again.

The story became so intense that it inspired the horror film "Silent Hill" — that fog-covered town trapped in a parallel reality? Yes, it was Centralia.

Nowadays, if you visit, you see only a few abandoned houses, craters in the ground, and smoke coming from the earth. A city that fire has conquered — and probably will never return.