0
Seconds of shaking
0
Magnitude
0
Deaths
0
Single-family homes uninhabitable
0
Multi-family units uninhabitable
0
Commercial Units Uninhabitable
0
Mobile Homes Off Foundation
0
Mobile homes burned to ground
0
Private Structures Damaged
0
Homes with Failed Block Walls
0
Homes with Failed Chimneys
$
0
Damage to Private Property
$
0
Damage to city-owned bridges, medians, parks, buildings, roads and other facilities
$
0
Estimated Damage to non city-owned Public Facilities
$
0
Estimated Damage to structures in unincorporated areas of Santa Clarita Valley
$
0
Damage to area freeways
$
0
Grand Total
In this photo: Gas rises from a broken gas line beneath Lyons Avenue, where the road buckled and stopped a Frito-Lay driver from finishing his delivery rounds. The driver slammed on his brakes when he saw the newly created holes in the ground, but could not stop in time and three of the truck’s tires were blown out. (Kevin Karzin/The Signal)
Sometimes, the photos tell the story.
Talk about a rude wake-up call. The Santa Clarita Valley, like much of Southern California, was jolted from slumber at 4:31 a.m. Jan. 17, 1994, by a profound reminder of nature’s destructive power.
Since then, the quake and its aftermath have dominated our lives. Homes have burned, belongings have been crushed, freeways have crumbled and the valley has united on the long road to recovery.
This book is The Signal’s look back at the Jan. 17 earthquake and its destruction. For the most part, the pictures – more than 100 of them – will tell the story of how the quake affected the SCV, and how its residents responded to the challenges posed by disaster.
The images range from tragic and surreal to heartwarming and uplifting. Each photograph serves as a reminder of that fateful morning, when our alarm clocks were pre-empted by Mother Nature.
– Tim Whyte, an excerpt from “Images 6.1”
Sometimes, the photos tell the story.
Talk about a rude wake-up call. The Santa Clarita Valley, like much of Southern California, was jolted from slumber at 4:31 a.m. Jan. 17, 1994, by a profound reminder of nature’s destructive power.
Since then, the quake and its aftermath have dominated our lives. Homes have burned, belongings have been crushed, freeways have crumbled and the valley has united on the long road to recovery.
This book is The Signal’s look back at the Jan. 17 earthquake and its destruction. For the most part, the pictures – more than 100 of them – will tell the story of how the quake affected the SCV, and how its residents responded to the challenges posed by disaster.
The images range from tragic and surreal to heartwarming and uplifting. Each photograph serves as a reminder of that fateful morning, when our alarm clocks were pre-empted by Mother Nature.
– Tim Whyte, an excerpt from “Images 6.1”
Rude Awakening
Images of the earthquake: Violent, shaking, severed gas lines, fire, sirens, buckled roads, crumbling walls and tumbling freeways.
Darkness.
Registering 6.7 on the Richter scale, it was one of the largest quakes ever to hit Southern California, and the darkness that made it so eerie was a saving grace.
The quake killed two people in the Santa Clarita Valley – including one who died of a heart attack – and 61 in the entire Los Angeles area. But the toll would have been worse had it occurred much later than 4:31 a.m. As it was, the devastation was severe, and the recovery to be long and arduous.
“There wouldn’t be any place that I imagine doesn’t have a broken window or something wrong with it,” Sheriff’s Det. Jerry Johnson said.
Johnson’s assessment would ring true in many areas of the valley. The following accounts of the quake, and the events that followed it, were reported by The Signal’s staff beginning just minutes after disaster struck.
In this photo: A child’s doll lies near the edge of a collapsed Interstate 5 overpass. (Shaun Dyer/The Signal)
Rude Awakening
Images of the earthquake: Violent, shaking, severed gas lines, fire, sirens, buckled roads, crumbling walls and tumbling freeways.
Darkness.
Registering 6.7 on the Richter scale, it was one of the largest quakes ever to hit Southern California, and the darkness that made it so eerie was a saving grace.
The quake killed two people in the Santa Clarita Valley – including one who died of a heart attack – and 61 in the entire Los Angeles area. But the toll would have been worse had it occurred much later than 4:31 a.m. As it was, the devastation was severe, and the recovery to be long and arduous.
“There wouldn’t be any place that I imagine doesn’t have a broken window or something wrong with it,” Sheriff’s Det. Jerry Johnson said.
Johnson’s assessment would ring true in many areas of the valley. The following accounts of the quake, and the events that followed it, were reported by The Signal’s staff beginning just minutes after disaster struck.
In this photo: A child’s doll lies near the edge of a collapsed Interstate 5 overpass. (Shaun Dyer/The Signal)
In this photo: A home in the Greenbrier Mobile Estates resident tries to douse flames with a garden hose. (Mark Sabbatini/The Signal)
Mobile Homes Burn
The rest of the Santa Clarita Valley went dark after the earthquake. But the Greenbrier Mobile Home Park exploded into a deadly glow.Â
Fourteen homes burned to the ground at the park, in the 21300 block of Soledad Canyon Road. The shaking knocked homes off their foundations, tore gas lines open and set homes ablaze.
The fires sent up a tower of smoke and flames, an orange glow visible throughout much of the valley in the predawn darkness.
“I don’t know where to go,” said Mary Flickinger, an 82-year-old resident whose mobile home burned. “I just grabbed two thing: clothing…and a little box of valuables. I don’t even have a purse or identification or anything. They’re all burnt up.”
When firefighters arrived, there was little they could do for homes already engulfed, so they concentrated on saving those not yet on fire.
“You pick out one fire at a time and work on it,” said Fire Capt. Steve Reese.
Mobile Homes Burn
The rest of the Santa Clarita Valley went dark after the earthquake. But the Greenbrier Mobile Home Park exploded into a deadly glow.Â
Fourteen homes burned to the ground at the park, in the 21300 block of Soledad Canyon Road. The shaking knocked homes off their foundations, tore gas lines open and set homes ablaze.
The fires sent up a tower of smoke and flames, an orange glow visible throughout much of the valley in the predawn darkness.
“I don’t know where to go,” said Mary Flickinger, an 82-year-old resident whose mobile home burned. “I just grabbed two thing: clothing…and a little box of valuables. I don’t even have a purse or identification or anything. They’re all burnt up.”
When firefighters arrived, there was little they could do for homes already engulfed, so they concentrated on saving those not yet on fire.
“You pick out one fire at a time and work on it,” said Fire Capt. Steve Reese.
In this photo: A home in the Greenbrier Mobile Estates goes up in flames. (Gary Thornhill/The Signal)
Daybreak's Unveiling
As darkness turned to light, the magnitude of what had occurred became more visible. Power, water and gas lines were down, or broken.Â
Roads were damaged and, in some cases, impassable. Residents scrambled to help themselves and each other, emergency workers established command posts and it was evident the recovery process would be a long haul.
In this photo:Â Caltrans workers inspect the remains of the Interstate 5 interchange with Highway 14.
Daybreak's Unveiling
As darkness turned to light, the magnitude of what had occurred became more visible. Power, water and gas lines were down, or broken.Â
Roads were damaged and, in some cases, impassable. Residents scrambled to help themselves and each other, emergency workers established command posts and it was evident the recovery process would be a long haul.
In this photo:Â Caltrans workers inspect the remains of the Interstate 5 interchange with Highway 14.
In this photo: Firefighters Steve Toledo and Pat Perez battle a blaze at Greenbrier Mobile Home Park, where 14 homes burned to the ground when gas lines were severed by the earthquake. (Rich Shveyda/The Signal)
Completely Cut Off
When the quake struck, several key access routes to the Santa Clarita Valley were blocked as overpasses and bridges came tumbling to the ground. One person was killed and several others hurt, but it was clear the death toll would have been much higher had the quake occurred just a couple of hours later, during the morning commute.
In the weeks that followed, commuters would try alternate means of getting to work – or they’d just sit in traffic realizing things would not be the same for some time to come.
In this photo: Shortly after the quake, some businesses opened, started clearing away debris and provided emergency supplies. Among them was Long’s Drug in Granary Square which gave away diapers and other items to residents in need. (John Demos/The Signal)
Completely Cut Off
When the quake struck, several key access routes to the Santa Clarita Valley were blocked as overpasses and bridges came tumbling to the ground. One person was killed and several others hurt, but it was clear the death toll would have been much higher had the quake occurred just a couple of hours later, during the morning commute.
In the weeks that followed, commuters would try alternate means of getting to work – or they’d just sit in traffic realizing things would not be the same for some time to come.
In this photo: Shortly after the quake, some businesses opened, started clearing away debris and provided emergency supplies. Among them was Long’s Drug in Granary Square which gave away diapers and other items to residents in need. (John Demos/The Signal)
Freeways Collapse
Perhaps the most lasting image of the January 1994 earthquake is that of the Highway 14-Interstate 5 junction, where steel and concrete came crashing to the ground.
A 75-foot high overpass connecting Highway 14 to I-5 collapsed at the onset of the quake, crushing cars and causing the death of Clarence W. Dean, a 46-year-old Los Angeles police officer who drove his motorcycle off the severed bridge shortly after the quake.
Miraculously, there were no other fatalities on local freeways.
Traffic came to a screeching halt as several hundred feet of the overpass crumbled, choking off the valley from points south.
In this photo: Shortly after the quake, some businesses opened, started clearing away debris and provided emergency supplies. Among them was Long’s Drug in Granary Square which gave away diapers and other items to residents in need. (John Demos/The Signal)
“The freeway started buckling and then the whole section in front of me just went over the edge,” said Mark Southerd, a San Francisco resident who was helping other motorists stranded at the scene, where Dean was soon pronounced dead.
Just north of the fateful interchange, another collapse occurred. The I-5 bridge over The Old Road at Gavin Canyon gave way, tumbling several vehicles to the ground and standing several others on its precarious remains.
The bridge collapses would create another commuter nightmare, as traffic was detoured around the scenes and Caltrans workers hastened to begin repairs.
Those repairs according to some estimates, could take a year or longer.
“We’re going to be out here a long time,” concluded Caltrans bridge engineer Tom Cooper.
Freeways Collapse
Perhaps the most lasting image of the January 1994 earthquake is that of the Highway 14-Interstate 5 junction, where steel and concrete came crashing to the ground.
A 75-foot high overpass connecting Highway 14 to I-5 collapsed at the onset of the quake, crushing cars and causing the death of Clarence W. Dean, a 46-year-old Los Angeles police officer who drove his motorcycle off the severed bridge shortly after the quake.
Miraculously, there were no other fatalities on local freeways.
Traffic came to a screeching halt as several hundred feet of the overpass crumbled, choking off the valley from points south.
“The freeway started buckling and then the whole section in front of me just went over the edge,” said Mark Southerd, a San Francisco resident who was helping other motorists stranded at the scene, where Dean was soon pronounced dead.
Just north of the fateful interchange, another collapse occurred. The I-5 bridge over The Old Road at Gavin Canyon gave way, tumbling several vehicles to the ground and standing several others on its precarious remains.
The bridge collapses would create another commuter nightmare, as traffic was detoured around the scenes and Caltrans workers hastened to begin repairs.
Those repairs according to some estimates, could take a year or longer.
“We’re going to be out here a long time,” concluded Caltrans bridge engineer Tom Cooper.
In this photo: The quake posed a series of challenges to utility workers, as water, electrical and gas services were interrupted by damage. Newhall County Water District employees Martin Torrez and Jose Gallegos dig to uncover an underground leak. (Rich Shveyda/The Signal)
The Days After
On Tuesday, Jan. 18, they started picking up the pieces. Valley residents went in search of emergency supplies, food, water, construction materials and help with everything ranging from shelter to transportation.
And the emergencies were not over. As Southern California Edison workers tried to restore electricity, power surges through quake-damaged wiring sparked seven fires late Monday night and early Tuesday morning, destroying some homes that had withstood the shaking.
The Red Cross set up shelters, Caltrans got to work on the freeways and various other emergency workers were in a disaster recovery mode – as they would be for some time to come.
The Days After
On Tuesday, Jan. 18, they started picking up the pieces. Valley residents went in search of emergency supplies, food, water, construction materials and help with everything ranging from shelter to transportation.
And the emergencies were not over. As Southern California Edison workers tried to restore electricity, power surges through quake-damaged wiring sparked seven fires late Monday night and early Tuesday morning, destroying some homes that had withstood the shaking.
The Red Cross set up shelters, Caltrans got to work on the freeways and various other emergency workers were in a disaster recovery mode – as they would be for some time to come.
