Associated Oil Fire - Monterey, CA - Famous Fires on Waymarking.com

A sign at San Carlos Beach informs us:

"Historic Cannery Row
Associated Oil Fire - 1924

In 1904, the Coalinga Oil Transportation Company laid 168 miles of
six-inch pipeline from Belridge Field in the San Joaquin Valley in
the Tidewater-Associated Marine Terminal on Monterey Bay.

Its purpose was to deliver heavy fuel oil for use by oceangoing steamers.
The terminal and fuel-storage farm were located where the breakwater
and U.S. Coast Guard Pier now stand.

On the morning of September 14, 1924, a bolt of lightning ignited a fire
in the Associated Oil Company tank farm. The ensuing
blaze destroyed the wharf and several buildings, set fire to two fish
canneries and threatened to consume Fisherman's Wharf. Two soldiers
from the Presidio, Private Eustace Watkins of Battery E, 76th Field
Artillery, and Private John Bolio of Headquarters Troop, 11th Cavalry-
lost their lives battling the blaze.

The wife of a Presidio soldier noted in a diary entry for September 15, 1924
'The fire is still raging, five tanks of oil and one of gas burning -all day
today - all last night , awful, awful.'

For 72 hours, fire companies from as far away
as Salinas made every effort to contain the
flames of the tank farm until the fire finally
burned out"

Type of Structure: Private Building Other: oil tank farm Construction Date: 01/01/1904 Fire Date: 09/14/1924 Structure status: Plaque Cause of Fire: lightning bolt Documentation of the fire: [Web Link]

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Date Logged Log User Rating   11/08/2014 Metro2 visited it