The year 1906 was a disaster for the city of San Francisco and its residents. It was on 18th April of that year that disaster struck San Francisco in the shape of a great earthquake. The city was shaken to its foundations and most of it was razed to the ground. But the ruptured gas lines worsened the tragedy by creating a fire that continued to blaze in most parts of the city for three days post the earthquake.



The 1906 earthquake would measure 8.25, on the modern Richter scale. It was substantially more powerful than the 1989 quake that rocked the city at 6.7 on the scale. It struck at 5:15 am, when many of the city's residents were asleep in their beds. The violent shaking threatened to swallow the whole city. It crippled the city's transportation, communication, power, sewer, and water systems, thus leading to fires breaking out all over San Francisco.

Due to ruptured gas lines, fires erupted all over the city and engulfed the Northern California town in flames. Skyscrapers, hotels, schools, houses, offices, and even the streets burned, many of them crashing to the earth as nothing more than charred hulls of buildings. Even the city's brand new Fairmont Hotel suffered damage before the first guest even had the chance to check in and stay the night in its luxury rooms.

The earthquake and fire conspired together to char approximately 490 city blocks. The distressed citizens fought with their misfortune to try to find their relatives, friends and family members lost in the rubble. The doctors and nurses of the city worked 24 hours and took care of the injured, often without medications and other tools as the hospitals were also in ruins, many without power for days.

At the end of the three day stretch of destruction, once firefighters and common citizens worked together to douse the flames, the city was forced to evaluate the damage. A total of 25,000 buildings were completely destroyed, with twice that number structurally damaged and requiring a great deal of time and money to rebuild and reconstruct. The damages topped over $350,000,000 in cost, a phenomenal price considering the turn of the century dollar rates. The city took many years to rebuild, with many businesses and homeowners abandoning their dreams to relocate and rebuild in an area considered safer.

The earthquake and the fires left more than 250,000 men, women, and children homeless. However, the silver lining was that these bleak times brought out the true human spirit, as citizens came together to welcome friends, family members, neighbors, and even strangers into buildings that were not destroyed during the devastation. The San Franciscans quickly began rebuilding their city and even created shelters for those left out in the cold.

Tragically, between 450 and 700 individuals were killed in that three day period. Horror stories emerged as the days went on, with men, women, and children recounting the terrible sights of humans burning alive in the streets. Entire families were killed, and a substantial number of children were left orphans due to the disasters. Again, the city banded together and worked as one to help the survivors.

The people of San Francisco remember this tragedy to this day. It is part of their history, and perhaps their courageous spirit is a result of those memories.