After 250 years of European settlement and modern scientific knowledge of the 21st century, California is still not fully prepared for earthquakes and forest fires, which are an integral part of its dramatic scenario.
The first European settler in the state, Spanish missionaries, suffered harmful earthquakes. Between 1769 and 1833, Spanish made a total of 21 missions, eight base FR. Junepiro Sierra. In 1812, a powerful earthquake – today, with a magnitude 7.5 and believed to be due to San Andreas fault – shook southern California and immediately destroyed seven missions. Forty local Americans were killed when a roof collapsed in the San Gabriel Arkingal Mission. Due to the reduction of understanding of the earthquake or how the buildings can be saved, the mission was rebuilt using traditional materials of clay bricks, wooden planks and tiles.
Until 1848, California was an American territory, though it had very few Mexican or American people. In January this year, gold was discovered in the Sutter Mill near Sacramento and within 12 months more than 300,000 migrants from around the world entered the region. By 1850, California was admitted to the Union as an independent state, and San Francisco was now an important international port and the largest city west of Mississippi.
Until 1906, San Francisco had 400,000 residents, and it was still growing. The city had adopted a few initial building rules, though no one was related to the earthquake. On April 6 at 5:12 am, San Andreas Fallta erupted 300 miles, causing a magnitude 7.9 earthquake. Hundreds of buildings collapsed in the center of San Francisco. Water and gas men were opened, which caused the fire. The joint catastrophe killed 3,000 people and 200,000 displaced.
In the next days, urban leaders pressured the newspaper publishers to label the catastrophe – not an earthquake. Although many insurance policies cover the fire, no one has mentioned the earthquake. Leading businessmen assured investors in New York and Europe that the earthquake was a rare, “once” event. To reduce public concern, the city made a great effort to improve the fire response, which included the construction of dozens of large pools at strategic locations, and linked them to a new system of men and hydrants. Urban leaders hesitate to recognize the risk of earthquake, no new building code has been implemented. In fact, existing building codes were suspended for several months to encourage reconstruction.
He took another major catastrophe, the Long Beach earthquake of 1933, to protect the state legislature from the earthquake. The earthquake, which was estimated at 6.4, came up with a Newport-Engel Wood fault on March 10, killing 120 people, injuring 500 and destroying 70 schools. It was soon named “Lucky Quick”, which came at 5:56 Friday evening, when schools were already closed and many residents had already left work.
Although earthquakes have devastated California since early California, death from forest fire and destruction of a building is a modern trend.
The possibility of thousands of school children being crushed in future earthquakes brought the state legislature into motion. It soon passed the Field Act, which tightened the rules of new school buildings and banned the construction of non -strong masonry buildings (such as bricks). The 1933 earthquake also persuaded the state to allow research on the earthquake and how structures could be made to resist the shock.
During the following decades, scientists made great progress in understanding new construction techniques to protect the dynamics and structures of the earthquake.
In 1971 and 1989, two major earthquakes encouraged additional legislation. Held February 1971 Salmer earthquakeCenter in San Fernando Valley, destroyed two hospitals, killed 65 and injured 2,000. The state legislature soon banned the construction of high -rise buildings in the active fault zones.
On October 17, 1989, millions of Americans observe the earthquake Luma Preta’s earthquake At the beginning of the A disrupted. World Series Game at San Francisco’s Candal Stick Park. The magnitude of the earthquake was 6.9, which destroyed about 1,000 houses, 64 deaths, highways and a part of San Francisco-Akland Bay Bridge collapsed. The state implemented more earthquake security principles, including “infrastructure flexibility”, strengthening bridges and freeway overpasses and retroofing of “soft story” buildings (eg apartments made on the first floor garage) –
By 2025, California has the most advanced codes of the earthquake in the country. Although engineers are convinced that the recently built structures, including the city’s high height, will perform well in future earthquakes, but thousands of buildings erected before new, tight codes are implemented. Will
A modern trend of forest fire, destruction
Although earthquakes have devastated California since early California, death from forest fire and destruction of a building is a modern trend. With the population of California being close to 40 million, the need for houses has encouraged the builders to lure the fate by building houses in fire.
In early January 2025, the terrible fire of Los Angeles has made the nation aware of the notorious Santa Anna winds in southern California. These powerful winds begin when the high pressure system stops in the southwest, and the wind is dropped below the narrow valleys of the Santa Mountain, which potentially reaches 100 miles per hour.
Prior to 1940, a few houses were built in the area’s valleys and hills. In 1940, the Randaj family, which had 17,000 acres of the Malibo coastal belt, faced bankruptcy and started selling the parcel.
Within a decade, there were more than 5,000 inhabitants in Malibo. Architects warned of the threat of a building in the area, which is a fire, but the local government refused to take action. On December 27, 1956, a forest fire broke out near Zuma Beach, which eventually burned 26,000 acres of land and destroyed 100 houses.
This incident marked a turning point. The Eisenhower Administration, engaged in creating a civil defense network in the middle of the Cold War, worked with the Congress to approve the devastation rules. The Malibu Fire area was called the “Disaster Zone” and the landlords who lost the buildings were eligible to get rid of disasters.
A fire historian commented that the government had subsidized “Fatal mixture of homeowners and brushesLocal governments under pressure from real estate interests still refused to restrict the building in fire -affected areas.
However, in 1961 Bell Air Fire engulfed one of the rich palaces in Los Angeles.. Santa Anna’s strong winds destroyed 500 houses, including actors Brit Linkster, Dennis Hoper, Zisa Zisa Gaber, John Fontaine and Jo E -Brown’s homes.
The fire with the heading of Life Magazine Announcement “A tragedy was carved in Mank.” Advertising forced local leaders to face the issue. Initially, the city banned the construction of new homes with wooden shells and asked the landlords in the fire areas to clean the brush with their properties.
Faced the building and the wood industry, the state continued to allow wooden shingle roofs until 2001. Finally, in 2012, the state called for all wooden roofs to be replaced by fire -avoiding materials such as metal or ceramic tiles. The city of Los Angeles has also tightened construction laws on new homes and demanded house owners clean their backs.
Will January extremely destructive Pacific Palacedes and Altidina fire more severe building codes or restrictions on the building in a known fire zone? Now a debate is going on. Some builders have demanded strict new codes, which will require new homes in the forest fire areas.Severe“Made of metal roofs is made of concrete and empty of any nearby trees and shrubs. Referring to the state’s long -term lack of housing, other supporters of development are to allow other interests to be rebuilt. Advisors to loose building codes.
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