In the 1980’s, after two decades of the Centralia mine fire burning, the effects on its resident population became apparent. Carbon Monoxide gas was being released by the fire and was seeping up into the homes and businesses around town. Carbon Monoxide poisoning became a prevalent public health issue in Centralia and caused many cases of brain damage and even death. Low oxygen levels and toxic smoke also contributed to the hazardous health and safety conditions in the town (About, 2017). Because public health had declined so drastically “In 1984, a voluntary program was begun to move residents from their homes. Many accepted buyout offers for their properties and moved elsewhere. After leaving, their homes were leveled. In 1992, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania used eminent domain to take control of all the property within the town. The remaining buildings were condemned and the residents asked to leave. Many did, but a few remained and sued for their right to stay” (website). This had a devastating effect on local economy. After most of the residence had to be evacuated there was almost no local economy left to speak of.

The government’s involvement in Centralia was not a boon to the people of the town. In 1967, a few years after the fire had started, the US Bureau if Mines had suggested the use of trenches to contain the mine fire. This method of containment had proven effective before and, had it been implemented, could have contained the fire starving it of more fuel. This proposal would have cost the federal government $4.5 million dollars. This cost would ultimately lead to the scrapping of this proposal and instead less affective, but much cheaper, flush barriers were used in Centralia. The US Bureau of Mines defended this decision because they believed that saving $500,000 of real estate properties, in a town past its prime, did not justify the $4.5 million dollars of taxpayer money needed to fund this project. This would prove faulty reasoning though because the combined cost of the flush barriers and the relocation of the entire population of Centralia ended up costing the taxpayers $42 million dollars. This is ten times the cost of the original proposal to