On March 12, 1928, a huge dam nestled in the foothills north of
Los Angeles collapsed and spread death and devastation from Newhall
to the Pacific Ocean near Ventura. Some 450 lives were lost, making
this disaster equivalent in its human tragedy to the great San
Francisco Earthquake of 1906. But the earthquake was an act of God,
while the dam's collapse resulted from the actions of men.
From its canyon above Castaic Junction the wall of deadly water
was unleashed on the Santa Clara Valley and its ranches, citrus
groves, towns of Fillmore, Santa Paula, and the valley south of
Ventura. Homes, schools, bridges, highways, power lines, a
railroad-all were ravaged under a blanket of seething water and
debris.
This classic account of one of California's great tragedies is
once again made available to the public after being out-of-print
for over twenty years. It is a fascinating narrative, recounting
the arrival of William Mulholland in 1877, the search for supplies
of water for thirsty southern California, and the subsequent Owens
Valley water troubles. The dam break and flood are vividly
portrayed, with many eyewitness accounts. Post-mortems of the
disaster are offered, including the unique legal history of relief
and restitution by the City of Los Angeles on nearly 3,000
claims-none of which were ever filed through the courts
Geology of the damsite, construction of the dam, mistrust of the
structure by persons of the area, valley people's resentment of the
mass destruction, relief work and restoration, investigations of
the failure-all are presented in interesting, factual, and unbiased
narration.
General
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