Napa’s people, buildings hit hard by 6.0 earthquake
The largest earthquake to hit the Bay Area in a quarter century struck the North Bay at 3:20 a.m. Sunday morning, injuring nearly 200 people - most in Napa County - while touching off fires that destroyed at least six homes, buckling local roads, and damaging dozens of buildings in Napa and across the region.
The magnitude 6.0 quake, centered about four miles northwest of American Canyon, knocked out power to more than 60,000 people in Napa and Sonoma counties early Sunday and broke dozens of water mains that could leave 600 Napa homes without water for days, according to the city.
By midday, Gov. Jerry Brown had declared a state of emergency, directing assistance to Napa, which appeared to be the hardest hit across the region. The temblor, which lasted up to 20 seconds in some spots and took place at a depth of 6.7 miles, shook a greater metropolitan area home to 7 million people and was felt as far away as Sacramento and Salinas, about 120 miles away, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The agency estimated that damage could be up to $1 billion.
Across the region, the quake jolted residents out of bed, forcing some to flee through dark rooms littered with broken glass and displaced furniture. Others evacuated in the face of flames, with only seconds to grab pets, cellphones and other belongings.
“It blew us out of bed,” said Andre Van Derheyden, a resident of Napa Valley Mobile Home Park, where four homes were destroyed by fire Sunday and two others seriously damaged.
By the time the couple were able to gather their dog and get outside, the mobile home next door was on fire, Van Derheyden said. The resident, a woman, was able to escape, but her home was a total loss.
“Thank heaven we are fine, but I feel so bad for my neighbor,” said Van Derheyden.
Queen of the Valley Medical Center in Napa treated about 200 people by Sunday evening, taking in patients through a triage center outside the facility’s front doors. Most suffered cuts from broken glass and bruises from falling objects.
Two people were critically injured, including 14-year-old Nicholas Dillon who was stabilized at the hospital’s triage center before he was flown to UC Davis Medical Center, spokeswoman Vanessa deGier said. The boy, who was in serious condition Sunday night, was injured when a brick fireplace collapsed on him, Napa city spokesman Barry Martin said.
The other seriously injured patient was an adult who suffered multiple fractures, deGier said.
An additional eight patients were treated at St. Helena Hospital to the north in Napa Valley, according to the city of Napa.
The worst damage to buildings appeared to be in downtown Napa and surrounding areas. The quake dealt a significant blow to the city’s efforts to revive its core by renovating historic buildings, many dating to the late 1800s. Among those historic structures, the county’s old courthouse on Brown Street lost a large chunk of exterior masonry and was left with large cracks on the east side of the building.
Main Street’s Pfeiffer Building also suffered heavy damage with bricks falling off the facade, leaving a large pile of debris at its base that spilled onto the sidewalk.
Napa County officials, who declared a local state of emergency Sunday, closed most county buildings, except for some facilities that deal with child and adult welfare, mental and public health.
Public schools in American Canyon, Napa and Yountville will also be closed today, officials said.
To the south, in Solano County, buildings in downtown Vallejo and Mare Island also sustained some structural damage, leaving several with shattered storefront windows and toppled masonry.
The predawn quake came on a key day for summer tourism and events, including the IndyCar Grand Prix at Sonoma Raceway and the Santa Rosa Marathon, both of which continued as planned. It also hit in the middle of the region’s grape harvest, when wine tasting draws hundreds of visitors to area wineries and restaurants. The timing of Sunday’s quake, in the predawn hours, likely limited injuries to people who would otherwise have been going about their planned activities.
“The first word that comes to my mind is ‘lucky,’” said Dawn Weeks, who said she and her neighbors in the Alta Heights section of Napa were spared damage. “We’re on bedrock and I only lost a few glasses. My dog woke me up and I got out of bed. It was like a haunted house - the whole place was moving from side to side.”
The temblor was the strongest to rock the area since the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, which struck with a magnitude of 6.9 at the start of the evening commute, killing 67 people, injuring more than 3,700 and causing up to $6 billion in damage.
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