(OK, I could not resist the “hot off the presses” pun, do not blame Niki.) In the Meeker Herald April 28, 1906, issue, there is a story about the victims of the recent earthquake (April 18) and fire that devastated San Francisco. Several of the survivors had family ties in Meeker. Two sisters of Link Tagert lost their home. J.L. Riland’s sister also lost her house. Mayor F. E. Sheridan appointed E.N. Mallery, A.C. Moulton and T.D. Riley as a committee to oversee fundraising for the disaster. People gave $1, $2, $5 or whatever they could. The community of Meeker came together and raised $140 to send the relief fund for the many refugees. That equates to $4,788 dollars in today’s economy.
At 5:12 a.m. a foreshock hit California. The epicenter of the quakes was very near San Francisco. The quake was felt from Southern Oregon to south of Los Angeles. The San Andreas fault ruptured along a line 296 miles long. The shifting ground under San Francisco broke miles of gas lines, igniting fires everywhere and bringing down more than 28,000 buildings. Brick structures were especially vulnerable.
The number of deaths caused by the earthquake is unknown because many of the victims were still trapped in the rubble as fires started all over the city. The fires lasted three days. As residents saw the flames heading their way they packed up anything they could carry or drag.
San Francisco had a large fire department but with broken water mains, efforts were just not working. This was not their first city-wide fire. The previous fire had required dynamiting entire city blocks to stop the firestorm, much like today’s forest fire managers light backfires to remove fuel in front of advancing blazes. It was decided that a similar strategy should be attempted by the Army Artillery soldiers stationed at the Presidio in S.F.
The dynamite arrived from all over California and even as far as Nevada mines. The charges started at 9 a.m. According to one eyewitness, booms could be heard every five minutes for three solid days. Add in the roar of flames towering hundreds of feet high and screaming people fleeing in chaos amid wagons and carriages. In retrospect, the explosions may have just started more fires.
The fire raged unchecked for days. When the smoke cleared, an estimated 3,000 people were dead, some were shot as looters by soldiers “protecting property;” 250,000 men, women and children were left homeless. Many of the refugees congregated in Golden State Park and Delores Park.
Destruction was estimated at $400 million, in 1906 dollars. Reconstruction began immediately and included many new fire codes. 1906 was not the first or the last quake in San Francisco, but 1906 was the year Meekerites came together to help others in need.
As Christmas approaches, we should be once again mindful of the homeless and refugees here and abroad. They need not just a toy or clothing to brighten a dreary life, but a shelter and a meal. Find a way to give from the heart. It has been shown that the happiest people on earth are not the rich. It is the people who give of themselves every day who feel happiest.
By ED PECK
