[HN Gopher] A local TV station investigated an underground mine ...
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       A local TV station investigated an underground mine fire in
       Pennsylvania
        
       Author : DoreenMichele
       Score  : 38 points
       Date   : 2023-05-12 15:26 UTC (7 hours ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (www.poynter.org)
 (TXT) w3m dump (www.poynter.org)
        
       | onychomys wrote:
       | > There are over a dozen active mine fires throughout the state
       | of Pennsylvania.
       | 
       | The most surprising part of the story is in the second-to-last
       | paragraph!
        
       | FollowingTheDao wrote:
       | My family are coal miners from that area for three generations
       | (Kulpmont, PA). As a kid my uncle used to take us up to
       | Centrailia to see the melted roads. My grandfather and two uncles
       | had Black Lung. They used to strike and get beaten by the
       | "police" for it.
       | 
       | The coal companies never cared and never will. I saw what they
       | did to these communities. Now they are all suffering from the
       | opioid epidemic[1]. Glad these two are doing some real local
       | reporting.
       | 
       | [1] https://www.northcentralpa.com/news/crime/mt-carmel-
       | doctor-p...
        
         | lc9er wrote:
         | My great-grandmother lost two (teenage) brothers in
         | Pennsylvania mining accidents in the early 1900's. The coal
         | companies were more than happy to grind through the expendable,
         | cheap, often immigrant, population of the region.
        
           | FollowingTheDao wrote:
           | Yes, when I was doing my ancestry i found several of my
           | relatives death certificates where cause of death was "Mining
           | Accident", and many of my family were also missing fingers.
           | 
           | These are the people who built the county, and what did they
           | get...
        
       | hettygreen wrote:
       | Part 1: https://www.wfmz.com/news/area/poconos-coal/burning-coal-
       | cou...
       | 
       | Part 2: https://www.wfmz.com/news/area/poconos-coal/burning-coal-
       | cou...
       | 
       | Part 3: https://www.wfmz.com/news/area/poconos-coal/burning-coal-
       | cou...
       | 
       | Part 4: https://www.wfmz.com/news/area/poconos-coal/burning-coal-
       | cou...
       | 
       | I stopped by Centralia on a road trip, it's a bit of a "tourist
       | destination" in the atlas-obscura sense.. It was a very weird
       | place. Roads were buckled everywhere, smoke was coming out of
       | cracks.. enitire neighborhoods were abandoned and houses missing,
       | etc.
        
       | pengaru wrote:
       | Orthogonal but the early 90s film Nothing But Trouble [0]
       | starring Chevy Chase, Demi Moore, John Candy, and Dan Akroyd
       | incorporates a likely Centralia-inspired mine fire into the
       | overarching story. It's a ridiculous film but worth watching,
       | they definitely don't make em like this anymore.
       | 
       | [0] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5uOBF6r040U
        
         | geocrasher wrote:
         | they definitely don't make em like this anymore.
         | 
         | And for that I'm glad. Chevy Chase only did the film as a
         | personal favor to Dan Akroyd. That movie is ridiculous alright,
         | and as a younger person, nightmare fuel. It's grotesque on an
         | almost-horror level.
        
           | mike_d wrote:
           | It might not be for everyone, but this was one of my favorite
           | movies growing up. You could make the same comment about
           | Beetlejuice (of which I am excited they are making a sequel).
        
             | pengaru wrote:
             | You sir are someone I could probably enjoy a favorite
             | movies marathon with.
             | 
             | Raising Arizona is another from that era which really
             | clicked for my young mind...
        
         | numbsafari wrote:
         | Chevy Chase using a car phone is worth it for the historical
         | perspective.
        
         | rhcom2 wrote:
         | Tupac's acting debut too
        
       | mistrial9 wrote:
       | great story and kudos for those involved in this..
       | 
       | fyi it is in Wikipedia for some time
        
         | francisofascii wrote:
         | Is it? The Centralia fire is in Wikipedia, but this second
         | "Girardville North II" fire does not seem to be.
        
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       (page generated 2023-05-12 23:01 UTC)