In Centralia the main highway lies cracked and gashed; a noxious cocktail of carbon monoxide and other fumes pours out. The town is on fire. A vein of coal under the town has smouldered at 400ºC since 1962, creating weak roads and poisoning the air. The Government wants the residents to leave - much against their wishes. “They keep telling us we’re in danger – it’s their imagination!” charges 86 year old town mayor Mamar Mervine. “I think it’s a conspiracy to get the coal,” adds lifelong resident Joe Moyer. Some estimates put the total at 40 million tonnes of high grade fuel beneath Centralia. Despite the danger, it seems there’s no place like home.