Loma Prieta Earthquake Anniversary

Friday, October 17, 2008

Loma Prieta Earthquake Anniversary

Small quake 3.1 - local magnitude in Piedmont, Oakland, CA area today on the Anniversary of the Loma Prieta Earthquake

The Loma Prieta earthquake, was a major earthquake that struck the San Francisco Bay Area of California on October 17, 1989 at 5:04 p.m and occurred during the warm up for the third game of the 1989 World Series, 1989 both of the Bay Area's Major League Baseball teams, the Oakland Athletics and the San Francisco Giants were vying for the World series pennant.

The double-decker Cypress Structure, part of the Nimitz Freeway(I-880), and built on San Francisco bay fill collapsed, became the deadliest single place in the whole disaster as the double deck structure collapsed on vehicles at the height of the Bay Area rush hour, at the same time a deck of the San Francisco bay bridge collapsed onto the deck below as vehicles drove into the chasm on live television video shot from a hovering local news helicopter.

During this time fires were breaking out in the Marina district of San Francisco where collapsed buildings began to burn with victims buried in the rubble.

The final count was 63 killed over 3000 injured.

A prediction of the Loma Prieta earthquake, by retired geologist Jim Berkland of the U.S. Geological Survey, appeared in a newspaper article four days before the event. The article, entitled "Is 'World Series' Quake Coming?", was published in the Gilroy Dispatch on 13 October 1989.

The Loma Perita Quake is also known as the Quake of '89 and the World Series Quake, Caused by a slip along the San Andreas Fault, the earthquake lasted approximately 15 seconds and measured 6.9 on the moment magnitude scale (surface-wave magnitude 7.1). The quake killed 63 people throughout northern California, injured 3,757 people and left some 8,000 to 12,000 people homeless.

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How fires get their names

Every year in California thousands of wildfires start throughout the state. In most cases, the dispatch center sending the initial resources to a wildland fire will designate a name for the fire, but the first on scene engine or fire official can also name the incident. Fires are usually named for the area in which they start – a geographical location, local landmark, street, lake, mountain, peak, etc. Quickly naming the fire provides responding fire resources with an additional locater, and allows fire officials to track and prioritize incidents by name. For example during the Southern California Fire Siege of 2003, the largest wildland fire in California history, the Cedar Fire in San Diego County, was named after the Cedar Creek Falls area where it started. The destructive Old Fire, which burned during the same time period in San Bernardino County, was named after the road along which it started - Old Waterman Canyon Road.

CAL FIRE is the largest fire department in California and the second largest fire department in the United States. CDF - CAL FIRE Firefighters answer the call more than 300,000 times a year. CAL FIRE Firefighters make up the fire department for 30 of our 58 counties in California and more than 100 local communities. We serve as the incident command during many of California’s most serious disasters. CAL FIRE Firefighters respond to many various types and forms of calls ranging from structural fires, to auto accidents, to earthquakes, to floods, to the spilling of hazardous materials, to every conceivable disaster; CAL FIRE answer's the calls. CAL FIRE is the largest fire department in California and the second largest fire department in the United States . CAL FIRE firefighters protect 33 million acres of State Responsibility Area (SRA). We have over 4,000 members within CAL FIRE and CAL FIRE is associated with the California Professional Firefighters (CPF) and the International Association of Firefighters (IAFF).

CFN - CALIFORNIA FIRE NEWS - CAL FIRE NEWS

Friday, October 17, 2008