The KNBC David Horowitz Incident

FROM THE NOW GONE NBC BURBANK STUDIOS - Say the name David Horowitz to almost anybody who grew up in Southern California and the reply is often, "Oh, remember that when he was held up on Channel 4?"

Here is probably the most infamous, bizarre moment in Los Angeles television history when on 4:42 p.m. on August 20, 1987, a mentally disturbed man walked onto the KNBC-TV news set in Burbank during a live broadcast, held a gun to the back of Fight Back consumer reporter David Horowitz and ordered him to read a rambling statement.


The audio on this is not all that great, but here is a KNBC news report later that day on what happened on their news set.

The gunman was Gary Stollman, who was the son of former KNBC pharmacist reporter Max Stollman. Max Stollman had recently left KNBC some months earlier.

The four-page letter the gunman demanded Mr. Horowitz read began with, "The man who has appeared on KNBC for the last three years is not my biological father. "He is a clone, a double created by the Central Intelligence Agency and alien forces." It was at that point KNBC News Director Tom Capra ordered the station off-the-air.

When KNBC went off-the-air Stollman noticed the brightly colored "One Moment Please" card on one of the television monitors, and the anchors, John Beard and Kirstie Wilde, along with the camera operators and floor director, had to convince Stollman that KNBC was really on-the-air. The deception seemed to work.

During the ordeal it is amazing to watch Mr. Horowitz appear, well, acting completely relaxed and carrying on like a regular interviewer, despite the fact he had a gun to his back.

Looks can always be a bit deceiving as Mr. Horowitz told the Los Angeles Times in 1987, "The guy came up and put a gun in my back [and] my first reaction was, 'I can't believe this is happening.' "His first words to me were, 'Read this or I'll shoot you!' "People later told me how calm I looked, but believe me, I wasn't!"

"I kept thinking of my wife and kids," Mr. Horowitz said to the Times. "I didn't know if the guy was a terrorist or a whacko or somebody trying to get even for something. "My fear was that if any police came into the studio, and there was a marksman there and he fired at this guy, I might be caught in the cross-fire or this guy might pop a shot off and get me through the back of the head or whatever because I was not aware of the fact that this guy had a toy gun."

With a gun pointed to his back Mr. Horowitz told United Press International in 1987, "who the hell was going to rescue me?"

At the end of the saga when it is reveal the weapon was no more than an unloaded pellet gun Mr. Horowitz shrugs his shoulders and gives something that could be best described as a, "you've got to be freaking kidding me!" look as Stollman was thanking him for reading his statement that lasted seven minutes.

Just as Stollman put the toy gun down on the news desk co-anchor Mr. Beard quickly grabbed the fake weapon and Burbank Police rushed onto the set and promptly arrested Stollman.

Mr. Beard later told reporters he had never felt his heart beat as fast as he did that afternoon. Most disturbingly to Mr. Beard was, "if he (Mr. Horowitz) is shot how am I going to explain to people at home what just happened."

On a site called SkepticFiles.org Stollman has a rambling manifesto written in 1991 titled, The Invasion of the Human Race.

There, Stollman says in part,

I never planned out my life to wind up on the set of KNBC in Los Angeles LIVE, standing behind TV consumer advocate David Horowitz holding a toy gun to his head, demanding that he read a statement about how space aliens and the CIA had replaced my father and family with clones. I had only planned on becoming a computer programmer and a good citizen. At least that was before I discovered I had somehow stumbled onto a vast plot to overthrow the human race.

So just how did Stollman get past security? Ms. Wilde, co-anchor with Mr. Beard during the incident, told the Times Mr. Stollman simply exploited his father's former position with KNBC.

Ms. Wilde told the Times, "He scoped the studio out before. "He came last Thursday and called me to get in. "He said he was Max Stollman's son and he lives in the East and he never had the opportunity to see his dad while he was on our air and could he come down and watch. "I felt kind of bad because Max's contract was terminated and he hadn't had a chance to see him, so I said come on down."

The impression left on Mr. Wilde prior to the incident was Stollman, "seemed a little unstable, or maybe not very bright."

Since the incident Stollman has been in and out of mental facilities and continues to post conspiracy thoughts on message boards, as noted above.

After the incident Mr. Horowitz launched a state and later national campaign to outlaw toy guns that look a little too much like the real thing.

Mr. Horowitz remained with KNBC until August 1992 when management declined to renew his contract. Many in the industry believe his 20-plus years at the NBC owned-and-operated station came to a sudden end because funds were needed to pay Paul Moyer's unprecedented $8 million contract. Mr. Moyer had come to KNBC from KABC-TV in August 1992. In August and into fall of 1992, in addition to Mr. Horowitz, a few on-air and many behind the scenes employees were also let go from KNBC.

During his time at KNBC, aside from being a consumer advocate and hosting his famed Fight Back program, Mr. Horowitz was the first television reporter on-the-air following the 1971 Sylmar Earthquake. During that event he was broadcasting sitting on a stool in a darken parking lot. Later joining him during that early morning coverage was fellow KNBC reporter Tom Brokaw.

For a time David Horowitz returned to television in 1994-95 on KCBS-TV, joining Jerry Dunphy and Dr. George Fischbeck.


Today Mr. Horowitz is still fighting back for you by way of FightBack.com. Photograph used under a Creative Commons license.

Timely enough just a short time later on October 1, 1987, KNBC would once again be in the national spotlight for another bizarre on-air incident, and this time with David Letterman making fun of the incident, when Kent Shocknek and Christopher Nance went under the news desk for an extended period of time during an aftershock of the Whittier Narrows Earthquake. Mr. Shocknek, who retired from KCBS/KCAL-TV in 2014, has said many times over there was a genuine threat with heavy studio lights swinging precariously overhead. Nonetheless this incident created an awkward moment and is, much to Mr. Shocknek's dismay, perhaps the second most unusual event in local television that is highly remembered.

(Editor's Note: This story has been updated and reedited, but originally appeared in the now defunct Southern California News Wire in 2010, and it seems parts of this story has been plagiarized in some places around the Internet. So goes life on the Internet.)

Keep These Other Earthquake Preparedness Tips In Mind

STRADDLING THE WHITTIER FAULT - For those who come across this online publication that occasionally publishes articles (and should do so more often) about Southern California you know we are very fascinated by the mystery of earthquakes. As much as some of us try to pretend otherwise, earthquakes are apart of the fabric of life in Southern California as Sig-Alerts, high-rent, Disneyland and the ocean. In fact, if you are stuck in the middle of a Sig-Alert right now you may be sitting on top of an earthquake fault-line (like the Whittier Fault that cuts across The Orange Freeway above Brea).


Major damage to Interstate 5 at Gavin Canyon near the Santa Clarita Valley following the 1994 Northridge Earthquake. Photograph by FEMA and in public domain.

Since the aftermath of the 1994 Northridge Earthquake it has been noted by more than a few people, over at the United States Geological Survey and elsewhere, that things have been a little too quiet. In the last couple years have there been regular, noticeable jolts in the Los Angeles basin. In the past few weeks there have been a few magnitude 3 earthquakes along the Newport-Inglewood Fault, and there has also been some minor shaking going on out in the Inland Empire. That, along with the recent Nepal Earthquake, which is about the size we expect "The Big One" here in Southern California to be, has quite a few people talking, and hopefully they are preparing for next big quake.

In previous posts here we have talked about myths, facts and figures about Southern California earthquakes, but let us give a thought to other forms of earthquake preparedness.

There is a lot written elsewhere about earthquake preparedness and please, please, please take the time to read the information and prepare. Here, we want to present some advice and information that sometimes gets lost in earthquake preparedness.

Much is written about what to do at home or work when Mother Nature starts quaking, but in preparing for "The Big One," or a big enough one, here are some other things to consider when you are preparing.

Getting BACK Home From Work

Much is talked about what to do in the workplace during and after an earthquake, and perhaps your place of business has an emergency plan, but what about getting home after a major earthquake. As plenty of you know commuting to work from, say, San Bernardino to Downtown L.A., is the norm in our part of the world. So, what happens if a big enough earthquake strikes in the middle of the afternoon causing major damage to The San Bernardino, Pomona and Foothill Freeways? How will you get back home? After all, think of those times when there is a major accident, a Sig-Alert, closing a freeway and how badly that backs up traffic, and the ripple affect across the entire freeway system.


Collapsed portion of The Santa Monica Freeway at La Cienega Blvd. Used under a Creative Commons license. 

For commuters who use public transit, and for those drivers looking at public transit to get back home, it is likely Metrolink, along with the Metro light rail routes and subway, will be shut down for a time so the tracks can be inspected.

So, whether you commute from the Inland Empire to L.A., L.A. to Orange County, or Orange County to the Inland Empire (you get the idea), it is very important to think how you will get back home if there is freeway damage, along with other possible severe damage that could make it near impossible to drive back home right away.

Just as well, what if your car is damaged in the earthquake? What do you do then?

This is why it is extremely important to have an earthquake preparedness kit at work and/or in your car. Even if you live very close to where you work it is important to have a plan how to get back home.

Chances are after a major earthquake you are probably going to want to get in your car and get home to make sure everything is okay, and understandably so. However, it is best to stay where you are at for a time (if it is structurally safe, or go to an open, safe space) listen to the radio, or television if one is available, or gather information online if you can get Internet service, and get information about the earthquake. Once you understand the scope of the earthquake you can begin to plan how to get back home. There may be more of an urgency, and down right understandable panic, if you learn the epicenter is at or near where you live. Again, even if the news reports from where you live sound ominous, you must keep your safety in mind.

Depending on how severe the earthquake is it certainly is possible you may have to spend the night at the office, or you can maybe spend the night at a co-worker's home, or maybe a hotel/motel, if they are not already filled, or damaged. You may have to consider spending the night in your car.

You must also remember, power will likely be out and places where you could buy food and other such things will likely be closed or just simply inoperable. (If the goodwill of people and businesses of past disasters in America are any indication of what to expect it is possible such businesses may just handout food to those stranded, but do not count on it.)

Now, if you live close, or close enough, to work, and there is serve damage you may consider walking home.

So, with Southern California's infamously long commutes you need to think and plan how you will get home following a major earthquake.

There Is Freeway Damage. So, I'll Just Take the Side-Streets

Okay, so you have heard and seen major freeway damage, and so you may think, why not just take the side-streets back home. While a lot of people may think they can take side-streets to get back home you must keep in mind there could be a lot of obstacles in the aftermath of a major earthquake that could make driving side-streets dangerous.

The most obvious will be the power-outage affecting traffic signals, backing up traffic. Furthermore, the streets may have larges cracks in them; power-lines could be down on the streets; shattered glass and other debris may be in the streets; busted water pipes could flood the street; natural gas lines may be broken; and aftershocks could cause further damage.


Street Damage in the San Fernando Valley following the 1994 Northridge Earthquake. Used under a Creative Commons license. 

This is why it is important to try to be calm at work and hang back at work after the shock, or where ever you may be in the middle of the day, and try to get as much information as possible about the earthquake before making a decision to drive back home.

Most news media, working along with the California Highway Patrol, Metro and other authorities, will try to get you the best information in taking alternative routes back home.

If it is safe to drive back home be prepared to spend several hours in traffic, as those commuters in the 1989 Loma Prieta Earthquake can attest to. Also, make sure there is gas in your car's gas tank. With power-outages and other possible damage many gas stations will likely be closed.

"DID YOU FEEL IT!?"

Even in small earthquakes a lot of people just have the call and/or text asking that question, "Did you feel it?" Chances are if it is a big enough earthquake they probably did.

Emergency planners often said back in the 1980s and 1990s, "Don't use the telephone after a big earthquake unless it's for an emergency." That remains true today, and since you likely want to contact somebody important to you after a big enough earthquake text messaging is the way to go. Communicating by text message will not use much data as opposed to making an actual telephone call, and thus will free telephone lines for emergency and important calls. As much as you may want to contact "everybody" after a major earthquake you should just send text messages to those important to you as even text messages can overload the system.

It is important to remember if there is a massive power-outage following an earthquake, and/or the cell-phone towers are damaged, you may be without telephone and data service. If you really need to get a-hold of somebody you may have to find and kindly ask to use somebody's landline telephone, or find one of those fading relics from the past, a payphone.

Even when cell-phone service does come back coverage may be spotty or non-existent at times. 

Since so many people these days, both at home and work, only have cell/smartphones the city of L.A. recently introduced legislation to retrofit cell-phone towers. This legislation is the first of its kind in the nation.

When To Call 911 or Other Authorities

Even in small earthquakes 911 centers quickly fill with calls. Most, if not all in those calls, are frivolous and tie up the emergency lines. Even in major earthquakes 911 dispatchers are inundated with frivolous calls. In fact, dig around YouTube and you will find audio of such calls following a major earthquake.

Always call 911 if it is a life-threatening emergency. Do not call 911 to ask for information or ask about rumors. It is also best NOT to call 911 if windows on a building are shattered and nobody is hurt. Of course, and please, do check and see to make sure everybody in the home and/or business where the shattered windows occurred are okay. There have been many cases where the 911 system is tied up by people reporting broken windows, but nobody is hurt.

If there is a fire, collapsed building, collapsed freeway, or something that looks to be a threat to public safety and there are no emergency workers on the scene that is when it is best to call 911. When you must call 911 try to give as much detailed information as possible.


Collapsed apartment building following the 1994 earthquake. Used under a Creative Commons license.

A note about calling the non-emergency dispatch line for certain kinds of information. Before calling a police or fire non-emergency dispatch number make sure the information you seek is already available in the media or social media. Non-emergency dispatchers will likely be doing double duty as 911 dispatchers.

Where Are The Emergency Responders?

If you call 911 for an emergency you may hear the dispatcher say, "We'll get somebody out there as soon as we can," and soon discover it is taking quite awhile for emergency responders to arrive. Emergency planners and organizations across Southern California have stressed that in the aftermath of a major earthquake emergency responders are not going to be able to get to every emergency right away. For many years we have been used to, and down right accustomed to, emergency responders arriving quickly during major emergencies, like brush fires. In the aftermath of a major earthquake it may take awhile for emergency responders to respond to a major emergency.

How You Can Help

This is where you can help. Well before the big quake you should consider participating in your local Community Emergency Response Team (CERT). CERT, according to FEMA, "educates people about disaster preparedness for hazards that may impact their area and trains them in basic disaster response skills, such as fire safety, light search and rescue, team organization, and disaster medical operations."

In the immediate aftermath of a major earthquake this is one way you can help your community, and how you can slowly rebuild and try to get things back to normal in your neighborhood.

Don't Forget The Toilet!

As the 2014 La Habra Earthquake showed, it does not take much big shaking for water pipes to be shaken loose and burst. Even when the ground is stable it seems pipes easily burst, as evident of pipes bursting around L.A. in the past several years. A lot of pipes are expected to burst during the next big earthquake, and that may leave you without plumbing, and thus no toilet to flush. So, what can you do to prepare if your plumbing breaks during an earthquake?

Put some plastic trash bags aside in your emergency preparedness kit, and use those.

How to use plastic bags as makeshift toilets? Line the plastic bag along the toilet seat, kind of like you do with the trash can, and there you have a makeshift toilet, which you can later, when needed, move the waste into the trash can.

Social Media

During major news events social media has played an extraordinarily important role in getting information out to people from officials very quickly. At the same time, during major news events, a lot of misinformation has been quickly spread on social media. Most of the time this is information is quickly corrected by officials and/or news media. Of course, there are people on social media who pass false information for the sake of simply doing so, and, on Twitter, it gets retweeted dozens of times. In the aftermath of a major quake such false reports could quickly spread undue panic in an already tense situation (false social media reports have already done just that in past disasters).

If somebody on social media is claiming something major is happening, like, for example, a freeway has collapsed or lots of fires are burning, instead of retweeting it try to send that information to the fire or police/sheriff's department and news media's social media account to see if they can verify it. The bottom line, make sure the information you are reading on social media is correct before sharing it.

This is all assuming you can get back on the Internet after a major earthquake. "The Big One" may very well cause major Internet disruptions that will be a real shock for a lot of people accustomed to always having the Internet available at their fingertips.

Check Your Insurance

Before the next big earthquake, or other disaster, now is the time to check your insurance policy to make sure and confirm what covers what when all goes wrong.

It is very important to understand earthquake insurance is only offered through a state agency, the California Earthquake Authority, and flood insurance is offered through the federal government.

Unfortunately, in the aftermath of disasters we read way too many stories in the news how insurance will not cover certain things for a certain reason.

Earlier we mentioned about your car being possibly damaged in an earthquake. See if an earthquake damaged car is covered by your auto insurance. Some auto insurance companies have "Acts of God" clauses in them, which may, or may not, cover your vehicle should it be damaged or destroyed in an earthquake.

It may be a complicated pain to deal with insurance organizations and their tons of paperwork in that sometimes complicated legal language, but now is the time to go over your policy. Furthermore, now is the time to think, talk over and decide if you need different insurance coverage.

Getting Back To Work

At the top of this list we talked about what plans you should make getting back home from work following a big earthquake. As the aftershocks diminish life will slowly get back to normal, and part of that is getting back to work, but with collapsed freeways that may prove tricky.

Those who remember the 1994 earthquake remember some very long commutes. Even though there was an urgent surge in retrofitting freeways following the 1989 Loma Prieta and 1994 Northridge Earthquakes, in the next major earthquake Southern California emergency planners expect some major freeway damage.

If the Internet is back up and operating as normal you may be able to work from home, depending on what you do. However, if you have to make the commute, well, you may want to think about public transit.

The then fledgling Metrolink received a big, unexpected boost following the 1994 earthquake, and expanded well ahead of schedule.

Now if your place of employment was damaged or destroyed in the earthquake you may have Disaster Unemployment Assistance available to you through the state's Employment Development Department.

The Bottom Line

The bottom line is this, the next major earthquake is going to cause a serious or outright major disruption for us, and it may very well change our way of life for a time (just think, the Internet may not be available at your fingertips). However, do understand, and it sounds like a cliché, the better we prepare, the better we will get through this.

Those Southern California Earthquakes

CAJON PASS - ONE PLACE WHERE THE PACIFIC PLATE AND NORTH AMERICAN PLATE MEET - Even if you are not the biggest newshound you know Worldwide 2014 was not a very good year, but in our place of the World known as Southern California it sure seemed like things were shaking more than usual.



One of the many places in Southern California where the infamous San Andreas Fault runs. Shown for educational purposes only; no copyright infringement intended. Used under a Creative Commons license.

In 2014 several widely "feel-able" minor-to-moderate earthquakes rattled the Los Angeles Basin. The most notable earthquake was the magnitude 5.1 (M5.1) La Habra Earthquake, which was the most damaging earthquake in the area since 2008.

In fact, things have been relatively quiet since the aftermath of the 1994 Northridge Earthquake, but in the last year it seems like things, seismically speaking, have been picking up.

So what gives? Well, as many geologists and seismologists at the United States Geological Survey note, such as "L.A. Earthquake Czar" Doctor Lucy Jones, things are just getting back to normal. In fact, having M4 and M5 earthquakes in Southern California is the normal way of life and we should be having a few them yearly. The problem for some people is that within the 20 years since the Northridge Earthquake many people have moved to Southern California, or been born in the last 20 years and may never had known of a time when these types of earthquakes rattled Southern California on a regular basis (of course they are many others who have been here well beyond 20 years and probably choose to forget we live in earthquake country).

Wait, These Types of Earthquakes Used To Happen All The Time?

Yes, and, by way of The Southern California Earthquake Data Center, here is a list of notable Southern California earthquakes between 1986 and 1994.

July 8, 1986 - North Palm Springs - M5.6
July 13, 1986 - About 32 miles West-Northwest offshore of Oceanside - M5.4
October 1, 1987 - Whittier Earthquake - M5.9
November 23, 1987 - Near Salton Sea and about 90 miles east of San Diego - M6.2
November 24, 1987 - About the same location as above - M6.6
June 26, 1988 - Upland - M4.7
December 3, 1988 - Pasadena - M5.0
January 18, 1989 - Malibu - M5.0
April 7, 1989 - Newport Beach - M4.7
June 12, 1989 - Montebello - M4.9
February 28, 1990 - Upland - M5.4
June 28, 1991 - Sierra Madre - M5.8
April 22, 1992 - Joshua Tree - M6.1
June 28, 1992 - Landers Earthquake - M7.3
June 28, 1992 - Big Bear - M6.4
January 17, 1994 - Northridge Earthquake - M6.7
   
What Happened After 1994?

Well, while there were the always ongoing minor M1-M3 jolts in the region and some M4 earthquakes just outside the area in the desert, along with a series of M5 earthquakes in rural Kern County in 1995-96 (some of which were felt in the L.A. area), notable earthquakes in and around the L.A. basin and Southern California in the aftermath of the Northridge Earthquake had became far, few and in-between.

In fact, outside of large Northridge aftershocks, which mostly faded by 1995, the next noteworthy earthquake would be the 2001 M4.2 West Hollywood Earthquake.

Furthermore, while there was a M5.4 in Big Bear in 2003 it would not be until 2008 that the L.A. basin would experience a damaging M5+ quake, the 2008 M5.4 Chino Hills Earthquake. That is about 14 years since a M5+ earthquake struck the L.A. area.

It is noteworthy to point out on October 16, 1999 in the rural San Bernardino County desert there was a M7.1 earthquake that shook most of Southern California, known as the Hector Mine Earthquake. This earthquake had an epicenter in such a rural area there was very little damage, but it did cause power outages in the Inland Empire, L.A. and Orange County. Despite such a significant earthquake it has been mostly forgotten.
  
Why Did The Lull In Earthquakes Happen?

Simply put, geologists and seismologists believe the Landers and Northridge Earthquakes relieved stress for a time on the fault-lines in Southern California.

In geological time 20 years is less than a blink of an eye.

So, Are We Coming Out of The Earthquake Lull?

Earthquakes in the last couple years would seem to say, "yes," and, much more importantly, in many interviews with the media after some of these shakers Dr. Jones believes we are going back to our normal pattern of earthquakes.

Does This Mean The Big One (Or A Big Enough One) Is Going To Happen?

Who knows?

It could mean something, or it could mean nothing, which is a way of saying there is no way to predict earthquakes.

Or, put another way, a damaging earthquake could happen tomorrow night, or ten years from now.

We Keep Hearing About The Threat of A Big Earthquake Happening, But Will It Ever Really Happen, Or Is It Just Hype?

Recent Southern California earthquake data listed above, along with historic earthquake data and studies going back hundreds of years show that a really big earthquake, or big enough earthquake to cause damage, will hit Southern California again, and again, and again, at some point.

What is most important to understand is Southern California, and much of California for that matter, sits atop two tectonic plate boundaries, the Pacific Plate and North American Plate. Those two plate boundaries in our part of the World create what is known as a transform boundary where the two plates slide past each other.

Image of plate tectonics by USGS via Wikimedia Commons, Creative Commons License.

In California the San Andreas Fault forms the tectonic boundary between the Pacific Plate and the North American Plate, and, simply put, as these boundaries slide past each other many times they become stuck, pressure builds up and you have an earthquake.

Will The Plates Ever Stop Moving Against Each Other So We Can Stop Having Earthquakes?

Nope!

As long as the World is spinning the plates will keep moving, and thus Southern California will continue to always have earthquakes big and small.

When Was The Last Great Big Earthquake in Southern California?

While there certainly have been many "big enough earthquakes" in our lifetime the last great big earthquake in Southern California was in 1857, commonly called The Fort Tejon Earthquake.

This earthquake was on the San Andreas Fault, which many in the Earth science community believe the infamous fault ruptured from the Parkfield area southward to the Cajon Pass. One reason that lead to this belief is the surface rupture along the fault was about 230 miles.

This earthquake is believed to have been M7.9, one of the strongest earthquakes ever recorded in North America, but California was a very sparsely populated place, and so damage and casualties were very limited.

It is believed shaking in Southern California lasted up to three minutes.

A similar earthquake today would profoundly impact Southern California with damage and economic loss going easily into the billions of dollars, according to SCEDC. 

What About The Other Section of The San Andreas Fault?

There is another section of The San Andreas Fault that runs through Southern California, and that section runs between San Bernardino to the fault's terminus in the Salton Sea.

Recent studies have shown the last time this section ruptured was in or around 1690.

For some geologists and seismologists it is this section of The San Andreas Fault they believe will bring us the dreaded Big One.


Video developed by Dr. Robert Graves of the USGS showing a simulation of a major southern San Andreas Fault earthquake. No copyright infringement intended; shown for educational purposes only. 
 
Just Be Prepared!

All you can do is prepare and be prepared. 

There is no way at this time to predict earthquakes. The only earthquakes that can be predicted are aftershocks.

Making The Best of The Faults Below Our Feet 

One way to make the best of all these fault-lines around us is to enjoy the natural beauty they have produced. After all, what gives Southern California its dramatic mountains and hills are earthquakes, and if we did not have earthquakes we would probably be as flat as Kansas.

Know Your Faults: The Whittier Fault

(This is an occasional series exploring the many earthquake fault lines in and around Southern California. This series is not intended to be a scholarly, scientific review of earthquake faults throughout Southern California, but hopefully will be a jumping off point for you to understand and further explore the fault lines that cross Southern California. )

BREA - Standing in the parking lot of the Brea Mall turning your head from the southeast to the north and slowly to the northwest you see vivid brown hills dotted with trees and homes lining the landscape. These hills provide a natural border between Orange County and the Inland Empire, and Orange and Los Angeles Counties. Like many of the hills and mountains that provide a majestic backdrop for Southern California there is a hidden danger in the hills, which resulted in the creation of these hills.

As geologists and seismologists have pointed out, anytime you see a hill or mountain in California chances are very good you are looking at an earthquake fault. If you are in Orange County looking at the hills above Brea, Yorba Linda and La Habra, or in the San Gabriel Valley checking out the hills that sort of parallel State Route 60, you are looking at the work of the Whittier Fault.

How Often Do Big Quakes Happen?

Like many earthquake faults in Southern California there are some things known about the Whittier Fault, but a lot that is not known about the fault. One of the most important things not known about this fault is the interval between major ruptures. What is known are United States Geological Survey studies showing the Whittier Fault is capable of producing an earthquake between 6 to 7.2 on the moment magnitude scale. 

What all that means is this, the USGS currently has no data on how often the Whittier Fault produces a major earthquake, and that is rather unfortunate, because that would give seismologists a rough forecast of when the next major quake may strike. 

About the only thing USGS knows about the last major earthquake on the Whittier Fault is that it occurred sometime in the last 10,000 years, otherwise known as the current Holocene era. As well, the slip rate is about 2.5 and 3.0 millimeters per year, according to USGS.

Where Is The Whittier Fault?

The fault line is a branch of the quiet giant Elsinore Fault, and going east-to west the fault begins just north of SR 91, up and above Gypsum Canyon Road at Bryant Ranch Park near Bryant Ranch Elementary School in Yorba Linda. Going in a west-northwest direction the Whittier Fault runs on the southwest section of Chino Hills State Park, crossing through Carbon Canyon Regional Park and crossing Carbon Canyon Road/Lambert Road. The fault continues to run in a northwest direction in the hills above Lambert Road and crossing very close to Brea Olinda High School, then crossing SR 57, crossing into the Humble Reservoir, crossing Brea Boulevard, and going in a more northwest direction into the hills above La Habra, crossing Harbor Blvd just south of Vantage Pointe Drive.

From that point the fault continues to run in a gentle northwest direction crossing "E" Road north of the Hacienda Golf Club into La Habra Heights, crossing Hacienda Road at about Skyline Drive going into Arroyo Pescadero Trail and then crossing Colima Road just south of Casino Drive. The Whittier Fault makes a more sudden northwest turn into Turnbull Canyon, crossing Turnbull Canyon Road/Beverly Blvd. and ending at Hellman Wilderness Park in the hills above Whittier.

Just How Bad Could A Big Quake Be?

A major rupture on the Whittier Fault could end up being a historic American disaster.

A scenario by USGS predicts that if a M6.8 occurred at 5 p.m. on the Whittier Fault there would be 9.450 injuries and fatalities, and predictions of building damage to be nearly $20 billion.


USGS Whittier Fault earthquake scenario map. Shown for educational and informational purposes only; no copyright infringement intended.

It is important to understand that anytime you get at or above a magnitude 6 that occurs in an urbanized area you begin to see structural damage, even in a place like Southern California, which is suppose to be "built" to withstand a major earthquake.

Also, remember that the Whittier Fault runs near several of Southern California's older neighborhoods and old downtown areas, such as Fullerton, Orange and Whittier, and a major event on the Whittier Fault could severely impact those places and older neighborhoods in the San Gabriel Valley. Depending on the dynamics of a major earthquake on the Whittier Fault it is certainly possible the old downtown areas of Pomona, Claremont and Ontario could see structural damage.

Again, depending of the dynamics of a major rupture on the Whittier Fault, it is very possible that even L.A. proper could see structural damage. 

What it comes down to is the Whittier Fault has the potential to cause major damage in the four county L.A. metro area.

Possible Major Freeway Damage

Let us not forget if there is a major rupture on the Whittier Fault that breaks on the surface the 57 freeway could see major damage. You add major damage on the Orange Freeway, along with possible major damage on the streets that connect L.A. and Orange Counties through the hills, and perhaps possible damage on the Riverside Freeway, you have the makings of a major commuter nightmare that could result in more economic losses. 

The 60 freeway, which seems to be the choice of truckers shipping goods from the Port of L.A. and Long Beach to the Inland Empire and points east, could also be structurally impacted by a major Whittier Fault event. It is not far fetch to say damage on the Pomona Freeway could reverberate throughout the nation.

Not At Fault

If you grew up in Southern California you probably remember the 1987 Whittier Narrows Earthquake, but it is worthy to note that earthquake was not on the Whittier Fault, but rather ruptured a small and previously unidentified, gently north-dipping,west-striking thrust fault, according to USGS. Seismologists originally thought this earthquake was caused by the Elysian Park Fault. 

Furthermore the somewhat recent 2008 Chino Hills Earthquake, which was the last magnitude 5-plus to occur in the L.A. basin, is not believed to be the work of the Whittier Fault nor Chino Fault.

What Can You Do?

All you can do is prepare. Prepare for the next major earthquake on whatever known or unknown fault it occurs on in Southern California.

No One Knows When!

At this time, and unfortunately probably for many years to come, there is no accurate way to predict when any earthquake is going to strike. The only earthquakes that can be predicted are aftershocks, and sometimes those can take geologists and seismologists by surprise.

Despite what any person or any group claims about predicting earthquakes at this time, quite frankly, there have been no proven concrete methods to accurately predict earthquakes.

The bottom line, you just need to prepare.