| On April 18, 1906 the dreaded San Andreas Fault | | | | some 500 city blocks burned to the ground. This |
| decided it had had enough. The colossal pressure | | | | may have been partly the result of the fact that |
| that had built up on it over the years reached the | | | | the insurance companies would not pay out for a |
| breaking point and the fault gave in. Starting at | | | | building damaged by an earthquake. They would |
| 5:12 AM an earthquake registering at 8.25 on the | | | | only pay out if the building was damaged by fire |
| Richter scale struck the city. The main quake | | | | and it is rumored that some people set fire to |
| lasted only about a minute and was followed by | | | | their own earthquake damaged buildings to make |
| two weaker after shocks but the damage | | | | sure they would get the insurance money. |
| inflicted was incredible. | | | | However the fires were started they did far |
| As the earth shook back and forth tall buildings | | | | more damage to the city than the earthquake |
| collapsed, the streets buckled, the electric power | | | | itself. |
| was cut and perhaps worst of all the citys water | | | | Though it is impossible to calculate how many |
| mains ruptured. This left San Franciscos heroic fire | | | | people were killed in the fire the best estimate |
| department with no water to fight the fires that | | | | seems to be about 3000. Almost 28,000 buildings |
| soon began raging out of control. The fires raged | | | | were destroyed and some 5 square miles of the |
| across the city for three days before they finally | | | | city lay in ruins. The property loss at the time |
| burned themselves out. There was panic in the | | | | was estimated at 400 million dollars and 225 |
| streets as terrified citizens ran to escapes the | | | | thousand people were left homeless. |
| flames. | | | | Temporary shelters called relief houses were built |
| The chief of the fire department sent a message | | | | for the displaced citizens but these could only |
| to the Presidio army base requesting dynamite | | | | house 20 thousand people. |
| and though martial law was never officially | | | | Planning for the reconstruction of the city was |
| declared army troops began marching into the | | | | immediately undertaken and surprisingly little |
| shattered city. Mayor Eugene Schmitz order the | | | | thought was given to improving building code |
| troops to shoot looters on sight as this was | | | | safety standards. Nonetheless, reconstruction |
| necessary to prevent lawless anarchy from | | | | went ahead very quickly and the result was that |
| ensuing and as many as 500 thieves were in fact | | | | a large portion of the buildings were not built to |
| shot and killed. The dynamite was used to blow | | | | higher safety standards as they should have been. |
| up buildings in the path of the gathering fires in | | | | To this day there are still questions about the |
| the hope of creating fire breaks that would stop | | | | safety of many buildings in San Francisco and we |
| the spread of the inferno. | | | | can only hope such a catastrophe never happens |
| Unfortunatly, the fires proved unstoppable and | | | | again. |