Although the earthquake caused major damage to buildings, the worst destruction occurred from fires. Many began as a result of open gas mains or faulty stoves. One of the largest, called the “Ham and Eggs Fire,” broke out shortly after the earthquake on Wednesday morning when a woman began cooking breakfast, unaware that her stove was damaged.
The city’s firefighters fought valiantly. San Francisco had a professional fire department of about six hundred firefighters, with more than three hundred horses to pull fire equipment. But the firefighters couldn’t control the flames. The fire alarm and telephone systems were down, and many streets were blocked by rubble. And while there was water in some of the reservoir systems, firefighters often couldn’t make use of it because the earthquake had ruptured underground water mains and other pipes. Since the firefighters couldn’t get water flowing through their hoses, they used dynamite to create firebreaks. But because the dynamite was often used incorrectly, instead of stopping the fire, it caused the fire to spread.
As the fires spewed huge plumes of dark smoke, thousands of people took refuge in city parks in large tent cities. San Francisco lost most of the downtown area. By the time the fires were finally controlled on Saturday morning, 28,188 structures and 508 city blocks, or 4.7 square miles, had been destroyed. During the disaster, soldiers patrolled the streets with orders to shoot looters.
For many years, the official estimate of the number of deaths was about 450. Collapsing buildings probably caused most of the deaths. Now, however, thanks to the efforts of city archivist Gladys Hansen, it is thought that about three thousand people perished.
Into the Firestorm was inspired by a story I came across while researching the disaster. A boy named Charles Nicholas Dray had run away from a county poor farm and been taken in by a local merchant just a few days before the fire. Left alone while his new employer was away on business, Nick braved a soldier’s gun to rescue business records and his employer’s dog, a retriever named Brownie.
I decided to set the story on Jackson Street, near Hotaling’s whiskey company and government offices called the Appraisers’ Building. This was one of the few downtown areas that survived the fire. Today it is a historic district filled with charming old buildings, art galleries, and antique stores. The cashier for Hotaling’s, who really was named Ed Lind, left a fascinating eyewitness account of how the neighborhood was saved.
The character of Tommy is also based on an eyewitness account. Fifteen-year-old Hugh Kwong Liang lived in Chinatown at a time when Chinese people faced much discrimination. Abandoned by his cousin when Chinatown was evacuated, Hugh escaped the city to live with a distant relative and eventually pursued his dream of becoming a singer and entertainer. After the fire, efforts were made to prevent the Chinese from returning to their old neighborhood, because it was in a desirable downtown area. After an international protest from China, residents were allowed to return and rebuild.
There are many books, photographs, and Web sites about the San Francisco earthquake and fire. Here are just a few:
For pictures and eyewitness accounts, including one by author Jack London, visit the Virtual Museum of San Francisco at www.sfmuseum.org/1906/06.htm.
Gladys Hansen and Emmet Condon’s book, Denial of Disaster: The Untold Story and Photographs of the San Francisco Earthquake and Fire of 1906 (San Francisco: Cameron and Company, 1989), contains many rare photographs of the disaster.
Books for young people include Quake! Disaster in San Francisco, 1906, by Gail Langer Karwoski, illustrated by Robert Papp (Atlanta: Peachtree Publishers, 2004), and Laurence Yep’s Dragonwings (New York: Harper Trophy, 1977).
OTHER YEARLING BOOKS YOU WILL ENJOY
TROUBLE DON’T LAST, Shelley Pearsall
CROOKED RIVER, Shelley Pearsall
STEALING FREEDOM, Elisa Carbone
STORM WARRIORS, Elisa Carbone
THE TRIAL, Jen Bryant
JOSHUA T. BATES TAKES CHARGE, Susan Shreve
THE FLUNKING OF JOSHUA T. BATES, Susan Shreve
DEAR LEVI: LETTERS FROM THE OVERLAND TRAIL
Elvira Woodruff
DEAR AUSTIN: LETTERS FROM
THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD
Elvira Woodruff
Published by Yearling, an imprint of Random House Children’s Books a division of Random House, Inc., New York
Copyright © 2006 by Deborah Hopkinson
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Yearling and the jumping horse design are registered trademarks of Random House, Inc.
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eISBN: 978-0-375-84916-9
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