KHTS Radio Santa Clarita Radio – Santa Clarita News
Eighty-seven years ago, the St. Francis Dam collapsed in San Francisquito Canyon and hundreds were killed when the 18-story wall of water roared through the Santa Clarita Valley. Santa Clarita Valley Historical Society members gave a presentation and tour to residents Saturday.
The presentation was held at the SCV Historical Society office at Heritage Junction at Hart Park in Newhall. The presentation and tour was conducted by Frank Rock, also known as “The Dam Man.”
The tour stopped near Powerhouse 2 which was rebuilt after the collapse and subsequent flood from the St. Francis Dam. The building is a near replica of the original and the original turbines inside of the building are still in use today. Click here to see the original Powerhouse 2.
The tour then stopped at the site of the St. Francis Dam disaster.
If the dam was still in place today, the ground where the group is standing would be under water.
The tour group then took an abandoned road to visit the site. The road was abandoned a number of years ago after extensive rainfall, officials said.
The group stood in the middle of the canyon where the dam stood. The image above shows what is left of the dam. Much of the rubble may be from the tombstone, which can be seen here.
Frank Rock was the leader of the tour group and shared a number of stories and a plethora of information about the dam.
A piece of the dam can be seen in the middle of the image.
Pieces of the dam almost completely cover the ground where Rock and the tour group are standing, he said.
The group walks past large pieces of the dam.
My grandpa’s ranch has a cemetery on it that has the burried remains or the people that died that day. Please contact me. For more info.
I grew up in the San Fernando Valley during the 1960’s & 1970’s. I never heard of this event. Thanks to the reporter / author who wrote the essay and for posting photos.
I used to go for recreation to nearby Lake Castaic (upper and lower lakes) every summer. I was right there in the area.
In the early 1970’s, I do recall after an earthquake, that the nearby Van Norman Dam was considered a threat and they were watching it closely. I never had any idea that water could roll all the way to the ocean. When the VN dam was threatening, I figured we’d get a few inches of water in the SFV at most.
Jason C. if there had been a breach of the Lower Van Norman, only the areas directly below would have been in danger. No, the water could not run out to the ocean at it did with the St. Francis Dam Disaster, which occurred because the water followed the Santa Clara River channel.
“…..18-story wall of water roared through the Santa Clarita Valley.” Someone needs desperately to re-read the historical record here. The high water mark measured after the collapse was near the dam site and was 140 feet. At the Edison Saugus substation located about 9 miles downstream, near I-5 and Magic Mountain Parkway, the flood had lowered. At this point, at it’s greatest, it was estimated to be 55 feet.