this abandoned town had cars left behind

[JP-xrmu]

The "mountains" are the rocky North Shore of Lake Superior in northeastern Minnesota. This is part of the old Finland Air Force Base. The buildings were constructed with asbestos and lead paint, the soil is contaminated with diesel fuel, PCBs, and TCE, resulting in the quick poisoning of freshly drilled water wells. The Air Force evacuated it in the early 1990's due to severe contamination. No idea why stationed soldiers left everything, but we were warned of crazy amounts of asbestos all over everything when we were young and that would explain a lot. The base was originally built in the 1950's for protection from Russia in case they chose to invade north from Canada. You're welcome.

[RF]

Tip for young players, if you ever come across a township, or some sort of habitable built up community that looks like it was abandoned in a heart beat with people's belongings still there, you've wandered into an area that is contaminated with either chemical, biological, radioactive or nuclear material. Probably best to leave.

[softtaco]

DONT START READING IF YOU'RE NOT GONNA FINISH, ITS LONG😁
Its an old USAF radar surveillance base...my father was stationed there, and we joined him there in the late 80s...we were moved, and the base was closed for good in 90 due to the asbestos, and contaminated soil. The guy with the flames on his jeep, which is actually a Suzuki, use to spray all the kids on our street with a water hose, and on Halloween he would chase us with a chainsaw and mask. A lot of vehicles were left behind because the government was reimbursing people due to the vehicles carrying possible contaminants. The homes we lived in were riddled with asbestos and covered with lead paint. Thanks for the video, this brought back some memories.

Edit...for those of you commenting on the minivan in the garage...it is indeed a minivan, and it is a Chrysler. Chrysler marketed there first minivan in 1983, this is obviously an early 90s model...but if you don't believe me on the details...look it up, this is about 10 minutes away from Finland, Mn. I lived on Shepard street, which runs parallel to the street he was on when he panned the camera around and you can see the upside down car.

Yet another Edit...my family wasn't affected by any illnesses or ailments, but I did hear of a few unfortunate stories with other families...I don't know any details on how they fell ill, or with what, but I'm sure with some digging the YT community here could find out if there were any lawsuits pertaining to such events. There's also a comment here that gives a pretty detailed description of the base...except for its reason for construction...the commentor stated it was built as a air defense against Russia should they invade from Canada...however, the accelerated creation of the base was actually due to the Korean War in 1950. Wiki has also mistakenly labeled the base as being closed in 1980, which is impossible because I was born in 82, and on base by 88, and off base by either 90 or 91...I don't remember exactly when we left, but I was still in Elementary School so...🤷‍♂️ look up Airbase Rd in Finland, Mn if you want to see the aerial view on maps. I just checked the satellite view and all the trailer homes(about a dozen) that were on my road aren't there anymore. It also appears that the property is still being maintained by....someone. I lived here 47.4535302, -91.2386777. The big white tanks in our backyards were used for our heating oil, and some homes even shared a tank. At the time...the base would deliver the heating oil every fall free of charge, lol, good luck getting the government to cover that charge these days

The edits keep rolling....I've confirmed that the site has recently been cleaned of over 2, 000 tons of contaminated soil, and that the site is still being cleaned to this day. That explains the freshly mowed lawns, and the missing upside-down car that can no longer be seen in the aerial view on maps. You can Google "USAF base Finland, MN contaminated soil" for more details....however, every site I've researched seems to have a different timeline as to when the base was closed. I've even read some replies to my comment that state the base was closed before I was there...I assure you, the base was open, and active until ATLEAST 1990...I have pictures of my 7th birthday, which we celebrated on Horseshoe road, we were such a small community that the entire neighborhood would get together for events as such.

Hopefully, the last edit🤪...after lots of questions to my Aunt, my father's sister, it was uncovered that my father was indeed station at Finland, MN USAF Base from 72-83 officially...while he continued his career in the USAF after 83, up until 90, he also participated in "Civilian" projects during that time. That would be the time that my mother and I joined him on the Base(decommissioned at the time). My Aunt was very vague on the work he would do, but it had something to do with Communication and Intel Gathering equipment testing. I also believe she's old and just doesn't remember a lot. I also was able to confirm that in 1993 he was asked to come back to the Base(without us) to help facilitate the purchase by Finlandia LLC., leaving the base for the last time in 95 after the purchase was completed. At this point I know the base was being called "Lookout Mountain Village". This is the company that has been working with federal agencies to clean the area. The hope was to clean it well enough for vacation homes or something of that nature. I have a link that will hopefully help a lot of you with your questions, hopefullythe link works, if it doeznt, I'll update with how to find it....it didn't work for some so...Google search "finland, mn usaf base heath consultation". It should be the first result, and i believe you'll need to Download the file. But there ya go...best I got, for now😁To those of you who don't understand that the first part of this thread was from memory of 33 yes ago, and the rest of the thread was through research and questioning others from my past...I'm truly sorry that you don't understand that I'm correcting my recollection of my past with factual research, but I'm no longer going to spend time pointing that out to you. To those of you who understand that I know I made a few mistakes from my memory, and I did my best to research such to correct those mistakes....THANK YOU!

[RPostVideos]

Yeah, I'm not going in there without MOPP 4 or Level A protective gear. People don't leave everything behind for the hell of it!!

[macfig]

That’s not a jeep, it’s a Suzuki Samurai

[pamelawalls]

Dude! If they left that fast I would not be breathing the same

[masterenos]

Anytime you find, whole abandoned towns, with cars and everything left behind. It was always done in good reason. Usually something very toxic.

[Calaban]

They really should mark up/identify such toxic places, so that later generations 'just exploring' would stay away. Those cement criss cross spike things that say instinctively "oh, NO. stay away" would do nicely. Or at least International biohazard signs/roadblocks

[masomcastor]

That's when you check to see if you're walking around in a radioactive site.

[henkmaritz]

it indicates there was a big enough reason for no one to linger around any second longer, let alone "explore' it.

[MS-nquy]

I worked at an nuclear facility in the late 70s-early 80s. It took 39 years for me to develop asbestosis neuropathy, heart, and lung problems from asbestos and chemical exposures. I'm sick now. I'm not going to get better. It's like a snowball rolling downhill. One thing after another. Good luck to those folks.

[jond]

I'm half expecting Preston Garvey to show up and tell you about another settlement that needs your help 🤣

[HowieRaps]

If a town is abandoned like this, you're health is probably in danger 😂

[LCPLDEVILDOG]

Worst part is i grew up on several air force bases that have since been closed down or used for minimal operations. Housing completely shut down for contamination. So he does speak the truth about it. Only problem i have with it are the families that lived there should recieve compensation just like the water in camp lejeune but no one has seemed to have initiated it

[MovementArtistryProductions]

Shit's all fun and games till you hear that test siren going off lol

[gailnahorodny]

Thank you for taking the time to explain to us what happened to that town- you did a excellent job telling us everything you remembered..and I’m glad you and your family got out of there safely! This was very interesting..

[jeepnj]

Finally, a place I could afford to buy a house 😂

[CrimTube]

If you chance upon a place like this with everything left behind, don't ask why just get the hell out of there.

[jasonyoung]

That's a dangerous hobby you've got there. That's either asbestos or dioxin related, and you shouldn't be within a mile of that place.

[zachcollins]

"Look at this Jeep!" Shows a Suzuki Sidekick lol