The collapse of the St. Francis Dam is the second greatest disaster in California history and considered by some as the worst American civil engineering disaster of the 20th century.
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| Remaining section of the St. Francis Dam after collapse. |
The St. Francis Dam, which was located about 40 miles northwest of Los Angeles, was built between 1924 and 1926. The design and construction was carried out by the Bureau of Waterworks & Supply under the supervision of the organization's chief engineer William Mulholland.
Just before midnight on March 12, 1928 (the dam wasn't even two years old), the dam burst - sending over 12 billion gallons of water over 10 stories high racing through towns before reaching the ocean 54 miles away.
I was able to find information on three dogs who helped family members during the disaster.
According to Carolyn Chivvis Van Laar, who was 7 years old at the time of the disaster, their dog Don woke the family before the floodwaters descended, saving their lives. Don was given a gold medal from the Pasadena Post in 1930.
Lillian Curtis, who lived near the power plant below the dam site, woke to the sound of the floodwaters (which she thought was a tornado), warned her husband and two daughters, grabbed her young son and ran to a nearby hillside with the family dog at her side. There, she dug a hole, placed her son in it and put the dog on top to keep him warm. Lillian, her son and one other man were the only ones in that community to survive. Dianne Erskine-Hellrigel, executive director of the Community Hiking Club of Santa Clarita, said "I can still see that hole that she put her son in, though it has been 90 years."
According to a family member, her mother-in-law's family was killed in the disaster - her mother and brother died from the floodwaters, and her father died within a month after having contracted pneumonia. Her mother-in-law, Peggy, was 12 years old at the time. "Peggy found herself being washed downstream in a torrent of mud and debris. She grabbed a cedar chest that was afloat, and held on for dear life. She heard a dog barking in the darkness and attempted to steer herself toward the sound. It was her family dog Roscoe, a Labrador Retriever. Together they managed to find high ground."
At least 450 people lost their lives. The failure of the dam was attributed to human error and poor engineering judgment. Mulholland took full responsibility for the accident and stepped down as head of the City of Los Angeles Bureau of Waterworks & Supply.
