Northridge Earthquake 30th Anniversary

Incredible as it seem, today marks the 30th anniversary of the Northquake Earthquake.

I was living in North Hills at the time and when the quake struck at 4:31 in the morning, it seemed like my bed was jumping around like Linda Blair's in The Exorcist. 

The 6.7-magnitude Northridge Earthquake occurred at 4:31am on Monday, January 17, 1994. Its epicenter was around Wilbur Avenue and Arminta Street in Reseda.

I had some damage to personal property and had it all boxed and separated for the representative from FEMA to inspect. He didn't bother to inspect it, but wrote out a check. I used the money to buy a camper shell for my 1985 Nissan Pick-up.

This was one of those life events a person who experienced it never forgets.

27 Years Since The Northridge Earthquake

Somehow, I missed this.

Yesterday was the 27th anniversary of the Northridge Earthquake. At the time, I was living in North Hills, California, about 6 miles from the epicenter.  

The quake was so strong that my bed was jumping like Linda Blair's in The Exorcist.

From History.com:

At 4:31 a.m. on January 17, 1994, a 6.7-magnitude quake struck the San Fernando Valley, a densely populated area of Los Angeles located 20 miles northwest of the city’s downtown. The quake was caused by the sudden rupture of a previously undocumented blind thrust fault. The Northridge quake, named after the San Fernando Valley community near its epicenter, was the costliest in U.S. history, with damages estimated at more than $20 billion, and resulted in 57 deaths.

 

Snow In West Hollywood

Fox 11 News reported:

LOS ANGELES (FOX 11) - Snow was reported around Los Angeles on Thursday in areas such as West Hollywood, Malibu, Northridge and Pasadena.  

According to the National Weather Service, there have been multiple reports of small hail, graupel, and even a few snowflakes down to around 1500`. NWS said that this is expected to continue through the afternoon then start winding down in the evening as the air mass stabilizes.

Northridge Earthquake, 25 Years Ago

It is hard to imagine that the 1994 Northridge Earthquake occurred a quarter century ago tomorrow. My memories of it are still vivid.

I was living in North Hills at the time and I remember my bed was jumping around as in the movie, The Exorcist.

The epicenter was centered roughly in the area near Wilbur Ave. and Saticoy Street in Reseda.

Associated Press posted:

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Twenty-five years ago this week, a violent, pre-dawn earthquake shook Los Angeles from its sleep, and sunrise revealed widespread devastation, with dozens killed and $25 billion in damage. 

A look back at the damage, deaths and developments in seismic safety since the disaster:
___ 

THE QUAKE 

At 4:31 a.m. on Jan. 17, 1994, a hidden fault lurking under the city’s San Fernando Valley neighborhoods unleashed a magnitude 6.7 earthquake that shattered buildings, broke water mains and ignited fires. 

The so-called blind thrust fault — one with no surface features to reveal its presence — caused a block of earth to move upward. Most of the energy was released toward mountains that line the northern side of the valley, but there was more than enough energy sent in other directions to cause devastation. 

The ground shook horizontally and vertically for up to 10 seconds, most strongly in an area 30 miles (48 kilometers) in diameter around LA’s Northridge neighborhood, according to the public-private partnership Earthquake Country Alliance . It was felt as far away as Las Vegas.

To read more, go here. 

A Word About Moving Supplies

Above, boxes from U-Haul. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

After dropping off Jess to her doctor's appointment, I headed to the Northridge U-Haul to pick up some tape, boxes and foam "peanuts" to do some more packing this weekend.

I found that U-Haul's prices for these were cheaper than with Box City, where I bought a few boxes and tape last week.

A word about tape. The clear tape that Box City and other places sell does not adhere to boxes as well as the brown paper type. I bought two rolls of the brown paper kind today. 

Beast Wash

Above, The Beast at the car wash in Northridge. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Finally, after about 2 months, I got around to taking The Beast to the car wash.

Usually, I wash it at least once a month, but for some reason I missed its December wash. The last time it got washed was right after the trip to Gallup, New Mexico and Grand Canyon National Park.

Above, The Beast after washing. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

The dirt accumulated over the two months and it looks as good as new again.

Thankfully, there is a coin-operated car wash in Northridge at Lindley and Parthenia that has a roofless stall. It is just perfect for washing RVs and other high profile vehicles. The total wash only cost $5.00.

Suspicious Fire At Tilted Kilt Northridge

Above, the Tilted Kilt Pub & Eatery last January. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

"Oh, no!" exclaimed a sobbing Glenn Thornhill in an email sent to members of the F.I.D.D.C. on news that our new annual dinner venue, the Tilted Kilt Pub & Eatery in Northridge, has sustained fire damage.

Above, a Tilted Kilt waitress waiting to take orders during this year's dinner. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

According to KABC News:

NORTHRIDGE, LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Investigators in Northridge are looking into what sparked a large fire that ripped through a popular restaurant overnight Monday. 

The flames broke out around 2 a.m. Tuesday morning at the Tilted Kilt. 

The fire triggered a large response from firefighters. 

Investigators said they found enough evidence to call the fire suspicious, but did not reveal what they found.

We have our suspicions (a clue is in the photo below).

To read more and see a video report, go here.

What An Evening

Above, cooking beef kabobs in 106 degree heat.

Last evening was rather interesting.

My former roommate and current house guest Jessica and I were going to cook kabobs on the indoor grill for dinner.

About two or three minutes into cooking them, the grill element died. I think the grill was over 31 years old as it may have been a wedding present. So, having an appliance last 31 years is not too bad. I'll have to get another one this coming week.

This forced us to fire up the Weber barbecue outside. Unfortunately, it was 106­ degrees outside. Before firing up the barbecue, I started the generator to The Beast so I could run the air conditioner. After that, I then fired up the barbecue.

Dinner came out good with no problems. After dinner, we decided to head over to Baskin-Robbins 31 Flavors ice cream parlor (only a few blocks away) for some ice cream. While driving there, we saw a huge black plume of smoke coming from the Northridge area.

We arrived at the ice cream store and they had no power, the power went out about ten minutes before, they said. But the ice cream was still cold and they could take cash only due to the power outage. So we bought some ice cream and I checked my Google Chrome feature on my phone and found that a Los Angeles Department of Water and Power Station in Northridge had an explosion and fire. In five minutes, the power came back on.

We headed home after eating the ice cream and settled down to watch the 1931 Universal Pictures Dracula, starring Bela Lugosi. Jes had never seen it before. Just when the movie got to the part of Renfield (Dwight Frye) being taken to Castle Dracula by coach, the power went out.

Even though it was around eight o'clock in the evening, it was still hot out. So, we migrated to The Beast and I fired up the generator again to run the air conditioner. The stay was short-lived as the power came back on in the area within 30 minutes.

So, we went back inside and resumed Dracula.

Started Christmas Shopping

Above, the Man of Steel in his Santa hat. Is this Christmas enough? Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Yesterday was spent doing some Christmas shopping with my former roomie Jessica.

We were at the Northridge Fashion Center and it wasn't too crowded. Thank goodness (since I don't like crowds)! We finished up before the rains started in the evening.

We will be heading there again this afternoon since I got couple of "Macy's Money" cards yesterday and they can be used beginning today (up to December 24) and are supposedly worth $20 each.

It seems like Christmas is coming too darn fast this year. It must be because I wasn't in California for three weeks in November, having hit the road on October 30.

Car Wash and U-Haul

Above, the U-Haul tech filling the propane tank. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Since the jaunt to Yosemite National Park is a week away, preparations have begun for the trip.

Today, I took The Beast to a coin-operated car wash to get some bird crap off and general cleaning. Following that, I went around the corner to the Northridge U-Haul to fill up the propane tank.

The propane tank has an eighteen gallon capacity and although I probably already had enough, I decided to fill it since nights are still cold in Yosemite and the heater runs on propane.

I hadn't filled it since after the Yellowstone trip and I was also curious as to how much had been used during the Lake Havasu, Joshua Tree National Park, San Diego and other trips. As it turned out, only 2.6 gallons of propane was used. Not bad! I thought the heater would have gobbled up a lot since it was freezing cold in Joshua Tree National Park and at the Gen. Patton Memorial Museum and I used the heater during those nights.

All that remains is to load it up with food provisions, some clothes and toiletries and I'm ready to go.

Annual Dinner

Above, (from left) Mike Collins, Mike Costelloe, Bob Kerns and Tom Cotrel. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

On this rainy day in the San Fernando Valley, I made the trek to the Studio City area for our annual get-together dinner of former Young Republicans (I guess you can now call us Old Republicans) and other political hacks from our college days. The gathering consisted those from California State University, Northridge, El Camino College, Pierce College and others.

It is hard to believe I've known most of these guys for over 40 years.

The dinner was held at The Man Cave Sports Bar. I had never been there before. Upon walking in, the first thing I saw was a blonde girl, nude, being painted. (Later, more nude women were getting painted.)

Unfortunately (or fortunately, it depends), they weren't a part of our group as we reserved an upper level dining area. So I have no clue what all that was about.

The dinner, as usual, was enjoyable. It was dinner number 44 since the tradition started in the early 1970s. A good time was had by all.