CONYNGHAM TOWNSHIP -- A mine fire that forced residents out of a small town decades ago has not stopped them from coming back to Columbia County every year.
The pews were packed at Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Ukrainian Catholic Church near Centralia on Sunday.
The small church still stands on top of a hill that is just on the outskirts of Centralia. It has since become the site for a holy pilgrimage.
People who participated in the religious journey say they come here to get away from the world.
The underground mine fire sparked in 1962 and is still burning to this day.