Associated Oil Fire - Monterey, CA
Posted by: 
Metro2
N 36° 36.591 W 121° 53.809
10S E 598657 N 4052159
A 1924 oil pipeline fire...killed two men and caused serious damage to the Fisherman's Wharf area of Monterey.
Waymark Code: WMRP2X
Location: California, United States
Date Posted: 07/15/2016
Views: 1
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"
Group that erected the marker: City of Monterey
URL of a web site with more information about the history mentioned on the sign: [Web Link]
Address of where the marker is located. Approximate if necessary:
San Carlos Beach Park
Monterey, CA USA
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