The 1906 San Francisco Earthquake and Fires
The 1906 San Francisco Earthquake and Fires occurred on April 18, at 5:12 A.M., marking one of the most devastating natural disasters in American history. Triggered by a massive displacement along the San Andreas fault, the earthquake registered 8.25 on the Richter scale and was felt over a wide area, affecting regions from Los Angeles to Oregon. In San Francisco, the tremors lasted between 60 and 75 seconds, resulting in significant loss of life, particularly in the produce district and south of Market Street. The initial shock was followed by more than fifty fires, the most damaging of which was ignited by a cooking incident, known as the Ham and Eggs Fire. This fire rapidly spread, devastating large portions of the city and leaving 100,000 people homeless. Firefighting efforts were hampered by broken water mains, forcing responders to rely on water from the bay and the use of dynamite to control the flames. Ultimately, the disaster destroyed 490 city blocks and caused an estimated $500 million in damages, with a reported 450 fatalities. Despite the extensive destruction, the community rallied together to rebuild, and by 1915, San Francisco was transformed, hosting the Panama Pacific International Exposition as a symbol of recovery and resilience.
The 1906 San Francisco Earthquake and Fires
The 1906 San Francisco Earthquake and Fires
At 5:12 A.M. on April 18, 1906, the ground began to quake under San Francisco, California, to the sound of jangling church bells. The tremor signaled the displacement of land surfaces along the San Andreas fault from Upper Mattole in Humboldt County to San Juan in Benito County, a distance of 270 miles. The earthquake was the worst to that date in the United States: The tremor lasted 60 to 75 seconds and reached 8.25 points on the Richter scale. Shock waves traveled from Los Angeles in the south to Coos Bay, Oregon, 750 miles to the north. Residents of Winnemuca, Nevada, 300 miles to the east, also felt the ground tremble. Displacement was mostly horizontal, reaching an apex of 21 feet at Tomales Bay. There was little vertical shifting.
The earthquake was felt most intensely in San Francisco, where the effect reminded one writer of a “terrier shaking a rat.” It took many lives throughout the city, with the greatest number of the dead concentrated in the produce district and the area south of Market Street. The tremor subsided within minutes, but it set off more than fifty fires, which quickly became the main danger. The worst, which razed the Hayes Valley section, began when a woman attempted to cook on a stove that the quake had damaged. It immediately became known as the Ham and Eggs Fire. Within 20 hours flames consumed most of the business district and all of the area south of Market Street, Chinatown, and Hayes Valley. Public transportation and the telegraph were inoperative, and 100,000 people were homeless. The fire continued to burn for two and a half days before it was brought under control.
Since San Francisco's water pipes broke early in the disaster, the fire fighters were forced to draw water from the nearby San Francisco Bay to save most of the wharves and a number of buildings. Experts used dynamite to raze structures and create a firebreak to control the westward advance of the flames along Van Ness Avenue. However, less capable use of explosives in other areas served only to start more blazes. Finally, after the water mains were repaired, San Franciscans were able to put out the fires.
The conflagration was the worst in American history. It consumed an area six times as large as that destroyed in the great London fire of 1666. The earthquake and its aftermath leveled 490 city blocks containing 2,831 acres, and did an estimated $500 million worth of damage. The business district and three-fifths of the city's homes and lodgings were in ruins. Worst of all, 450 people died in the disaster. Bleak as the disaster was, San Francisco had brighter days ahead. Rebuilding in earthquake-proof and fire resistant materials began almost immediately. San Franciscans completed the task quickly, and in 1915 their beautiful new city was the host of the Panama Pacific International Exposition.