I was intrigued by an outing to the St. Francis Dam site. Having traveled up San Francisquito Canyon several times over the years, I was always frustrated by the fact I couldn’t tell where the dam had been. My curiosity was further aroused after reading Heavy Ground: William Mulholland and the St. Francis Dam Disaster by Norris Hundley, Jr., and Donald C. Jackson.
Let me explain. This is the site of one of the greatest disasters in California history, second only to the San Francisco Earthquake of 1906. It’s considered one of the most epic engineering failures in history. Only hours after it was filled in 1928, the dam gave way near midnight on March 12. A wall of water swept away everything in its path until it emptied into the Pacific hours later in Ventura, 54 miles away. Over 400 people lost their lives. Virtually no one knows of this disaster.
The dam was part of the storage system for the Los Angeles Owens River Aqueduct, William Mulholland’s engineering masterpiece. Its failure led to the strictly enforced guidelines still used for dams built today.
We boarded the bus at Heritage Junction Historic Park after hearing fascinating lectures by speakers from the Santa Clarita Valley Historical Society. Stories about the dam failure and tragic aftermath were intertwined with horrific tales of survivors.
In no time, we were parked outside the rebuilt Powerhouse #2 and commenced our hike through the canyon to the dam site. No wonder I could never figure out where the dam was, it’s not visible from the rebuilt highway. The original two-lane highway constructed through the dam site was abandoned in 2005 after heavy rains destroyed the road. This served as our pathway to the dam.
On our hike back to the bus, we got a closeup look at the huge pieces of concrete strewn along the flood plain. Once we understood how the concrete was made, it was easy to find pieces of the dam virtually everywhere we looked.
After years of hard work, the bill to designate the St. Francis Dam site as a national monument was passed by both houses of congress. Just after our tour, President Trump signed the bill into law. Soon, the St. Francis Dam disaster will achieve its rightful place in history.