# Longest burning fires not the sun or Earth core...Anthracite? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 21, 2001, 7:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/longest-burning-fires-not-the-sun-or-earth-core-anthracite/94562 "2001-11-21T07:11:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Stoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stoid/32/272_2.png) [@Stoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoid)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2001, 7:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/longest-burning-fires-not-the-sun-or-earth-core-anthracite/94562/1 "2001-11-21T07:11:10Z")
After watching a little blurn on TV about WTC still burning, I remembered hearing about certain fires that have burned for decades, if I’m not mistaken. I have a thin grasp on the details, however… a coal mine? An oil field? Something like that. And where does the oxygen come from? How can something burn for so long? I need to know…and it seems like something Anthracite would probably be able to answer. stoid ---
**Author:** ![hibernicus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hibernicus/32/2802_2.png) [@hibernicus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hibernicus)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2001, 7:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/longest-burning-fires-not-the-sun-or-earth-core-anthracite/94562/2 "2001-11-21T07:58:55Z")
I have a candidate: a coal mine in Svalbard/Spitsbergen - 20 years. After the defeat of Norway, the Norwegian government in exile arranged for the evacuation of Svalbard by the Royal Navy. A small troop of Norwegians stayed on to capture German weather stations. In 1943 the Germans sent two ships, the _Tirpitz_ and the _Scharnhorst_ to the islands. Hopelessly outnumbered, the Norwegians were forced to retreat to the interior and the Germans razed the settlements. One of the coal mines near Longyearbyen continued to burn until well into the 1960s. There’s no shortage of oxygen, **Stoid** , it’s usually fuel that runs out. Other possible candidates are “eternal flames” at monuments and the like, but I don’t know the details. ---
**Author:** ![Hanna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b3f665/32.png) [@Hanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hanna)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2001, 8:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/longest-burning-fires-not-the-sun-or-earth-core-anthracite/94562/3 "2001-11-21T08:03:34Z")
[At a coal mine in Pennsylvania](http://www.dep.state.pa.us/dep/deputate/minres/dms/website/papers/central.htm), the fire has been burning since 1962. Punch the name of the town, Centralia, into Google and you can find a lot more info. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2001, 8:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/longest-burning-fires-not-the-sun-or-earth-core-anthracite/94562/4 "2001-11-21T08:16:16Z")
The longest is about 2000 years. Burning Mountain in New South Wales has a coal seam that was ignited about that long ago and it’s still burning. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2001, 8:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/longest-burning-fires-not-the-sun-or-earth-core-anthracite/94562/5 "2001-11-21T08:18:17Z")
I meant to mention that Burning Mountain was ignited by lightning. ---
**Author:** ![puk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ea5d25/32.png) [@puk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puk)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2001, 9:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/longest-burning-fires-not-the-sun-or-earth-core-anthracite/94562/6 "2001-11-21T09:22:14Z")
The first thing I though of was the Borneo Rainforests. How long have they been burning now anyway? ---
**Author:** ![hawthorne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@hawthorne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hawthorne)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2001, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/longest-burning-fires-not-the-sun-or-earth-core-anthracite/94562/7 "2001-11-21T12:44:00Z")
A couple of pictures of [Burning Mountain](http://www.horsecapital.com.au/tourism/Attractions/BURNING%20MOUNTAIN.htm). And I think the Borneo Forests have been going about 5 years now. ---
**Author:** ![Tranquilis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tranquilis/32/3639_2.png) [@Tranquilis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tranquilis)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2001, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/longest-burning-fires-not-the-sun-or-earth-core-anthracite/94562/8 "2001-11-21T14:23:14Z")
Based upon the Burning Mountain website, it’s more like 5000 years, then… How would they know this? As for man-made fires, there’s an honorable mention at the Edgewood Area of Aberdeen Proving Grounds, MD (Formerly the Edgewood Arsenal). On that base there’s a field the was used for the impact area for testing White Phosphorus artillery shells in the 40’s and 50’s. Every summer, the field would smoulder and burn, except when the ground was really wet. I dunno if it’s finally burned itself out, but IIRC, it was still lighting-off irregularly in '84. ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2001, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/longest-burning-fires-not-the-sun-or-earth-core-anthracite/94562/9 "2001-11-21T14:31:03Z")
How 'bout Yanar Dag in Azerbaijan? It’s been going strong for a while, I think. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Great\_Gazoo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/67e7ee/32.png) [@The\_Great\_Gazoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Great_Gazoo)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2001, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/longest-burning-fires-not-the-sun-or-earth-core-anthracite/94562/10 "2001-11-21T14:39:19Z")
As a aside, I read a Popular Science article in the last year that they have discovered a way to put out the coal fires, using a new kind of sealant foam. It was interesting. IIRC, there are some coal fires that have been burning for over 200 years in the US. (nothing like Burning Mountain - yikes! - could someone put that out already?? 🙂 ) ---
**Author:** ![Bartman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/779978/32.png) [@Bartman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bartman)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2001, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/longest-burning-fires-not-the-sun-or-earth-core-anthracite/94562/11 "2001-11-21T15:19:46Z")
Well it is nowhere near as long as the New South Wales fire, but Burning Mountain, Colorado has been burning since the 1890s. It is located just outside of New Castle not far from Glenwood Springs. They have actually tried the foam extingisher mentioned by **The Great Gazoo** but there are too many vents to seal, so the coal is still getting plenty of oxygen. ---
**Author:** ![Pleonast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pleonast/32/1183_2.png) [@Pleonast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pleonast)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2001, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/longest-burning-fires-not-the-sun-or-earth-core-anthracite/94562/12 "2001-11-21T18:29:32Z")
Sorry for this nitpick, but: Neither the sun nor earth’s core is burning in the usual sense of an exothermic oxygen reaction. ---
**Author:** ![flodnak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/838e76/32.png) [@flodnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flodnak)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2001, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/longest-burning-fires-not-the-sun-or-earth-core-anthracite/94562/13 "2001-11-21T18:36:39Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Tranquilis \* > **Based upon the Burning Mountain website, it’s more like 5000 years, then… How would they know this?** If I remember correctly, they measured how far the leading edge of the fire advanced per year over a number of years. They then worked backwards, dividing the amount burned already by the average advance per year, and came up with an estimate of 5000 years. ---
**Author:** ![Tranquilis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tranquilis/32/3639_2.png) [@Tranquilis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tranquilis)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2001, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/longest-burning-fires-not-the-sun-or-earth-core-anthracite/94562/14 "2001-11-21T19:01:31Z")
Ah! Makes sense, assuming a steady burn-rate (which is why I suppose it’s called and _estimate_). Thank you. ---
**Author:** ![Una\_Persson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/una_persson/32/346_2.png) [@Una\_Persson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Una_Persson)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2001, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/longest-burning-fires-not-the-sun-or-earth-core-anthracite/94562/15 "2001-11-29T04:51:20Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Boscibo \* > \*\*[At a coal mine in Pennsylvania](http://www.dep.state.pa.us/dep/deputate/minres/dms/website/papers/central.htm), the fire has been burning since 1962. Punch the name of the town, Centralia, into Google and you can find a lot more info. \*\* Sorry I was late to this thread, but this is the link I would have posted, and **Boscibo** beat me to it. I had no idea about Burning Mountain though! :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Osakadave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/f07891/32.png) [@Osakadave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Osakadave)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2001, 6:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/longest-burning-fires-not-the-sun-or-earth-core-anthracite/94562/16 "2001-11-29T06:24:42Z")
As for long burning _open flame_ fires, there are to be several gas fueled “eternal” fires with open flames in Azerbaijan that have (suposedly) been burning for a long time (since Alexander visited the place and probably longer). One of the most famous is at the Surakhany Temple, a Pharsee temple. The temple’s exact founding dates are uncertain, but it is at least several hundred years old. However, the gas pocket fueling the temple fire appears to have been exausted some 30 years ago and the fires are now fueled by the local public gas network. [http://geo.ya.com/travelimages/az-surakhany.html](http://geo.ya.com/travelimages/az-surakhany.html) ---
**Author:** ![Stoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stoid/32/272_2.png) [@Stoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoid)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2001, 7:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/longest-burning-fires-not-the-sun-or-earth-core-anthracite/94562/17 "2001-11-29T07:36:58Z")
Thanks for the info, everyone. Fascinating and amazing. How can anything burn for so long? ---
**Author:** ![puk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ea5d25/32.png) [@puk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puk)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2001, 7:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/longest-burning-fires-not-the-sun-or-earth-core-anthracite/94562/18 "2001-11-29T07:45:50Z")
enough fuel, oxygen and heat? just guessing. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![hanlie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a698b9/32.png) [@hanlie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hanlie)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2011, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/longest-burning-fires-not-the-sun-or-earth-core-anthracite/94562/19 "2011-07-12T17:22:37Z")
The longest burning flame is in Yasd, Iran. It’s been burning for more than 3000 years and is fueled by one specific type of wood (can’t remember which). Obviously there is always someone to feed the fire. It is in a Zoroastrian temple as the Zoroastrians (the oldest mono-theistic faith in the world) always have to face a light source when praying. Google Ateshkadeh, i’m sure you’ll find it. Unfortunately, due to the fact that most of the Internet is banned in Iran, information about this ancient culture is not very easy to find. ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2011, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/longest-burning-fires-not-the-sun-or-earth-core-anthracite/94562/20 "2011-07-12T17:29:00Z")
> [@Una\_Persson](#): > > Sorry I was late to this thread… You’re not as late to this thread as you might have thought… **Hanlie** , welcome to the forum, and congratulations on resurrecting your first zombie. 😃 [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/longest-burning-fires-not-the-sun-or-earth-core-anthracite/94562.md?page=2)