Congresswoman Katie Hill, D-Agua Dulce, introduced her first piece of legislation Wednesday for the 116th Congress to commemorate the St. Francis Dam Disaster.

The bill, House Resolution 1015, would establish a national memorial and monument to commemorate those killed by the collapse of the St. Francis Dam on March 12, 1928.

A similar bill to create a monument was previously introduced in 2017 by then-Congressman Steve Knight as H.R. 2156.

“The St. Francis Dam Disaster took place 10 miles north of what is now my hometown of Santa Clarita,” Hill said. “In honor of the hundreds of lives lost, this memorial will uplift the stories of the tragedy and serve as a constant reminder that our infrastructure is deeply important to our community safety and security.”

Congresswoman Julia Brownley, D-Westlake Village, is an original co-sponsor of the legislation in the house.

“The collapse of the Saint Francis Dam was one of the most catastrophic events in our state’s history, yet this tragedy has remained in obscurity for far too long,” Brownley said. “From the victims who sadly lost their lives, to the heroic telephone operators and California Highway Patrol officers who tried to warn residents of the rushing waters, this memorial will commemorate the stories of local residents for many generations to come and serve as a reminder of the importance of our infrastructure.”

Senators Kamala Harris and Dianne Feinstein have also introduced the companion legislation in the Senate.

“I’m proud to partner with Representative Hill on this bill to establish a national memorial honoring the Californians whose lives were lost in the 1928 St. Francis Dam disaster,” said Harris. “This monument will serve as a reminder for generations to come of the profound consequences of a failure of infrastructure.”

That bill would have created a 440-acre national monument at the site of the 1928 St. Francis Dam disaster in San Francisquito Canyon, which would have been funded by private donations to the Saint Francis Dam Disaster Memorial Foundation.

On March 12, 1928, three minutes before midnight, the St. Francis Dam broke and sent a wave of water down San Francisquito Canyon through Castaic Junction, Santa Clarita, Piru, Camulos, Bardsdale, Fillmore, Santa Paula and Ventura before emptying into the Pacific Ocean between Oxnard and Ventura.

The broken dam created a 55-mile path of death and destruction, killing more than 430 people.

“This monument will serve as a reminder of the profound consequences of a failure of infrastructure,” said Harris.

The bill is set to be heard in the Natural Resources Committee before a vote on the House floor.

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