The Mexican Quake
The greatest devastation resulted from the fires that quickly followed the quake. The initial tremors destroyed the city’s water mains, leaving firefighters with no means of combating the growing blaze, which burned for several days and consumed much of the city. The earthquake occurred at 5:13 a.m. local time, with its epicenter offshore of San Francisco, which then had a population of approximately 400,000 people. The massive main temblor, having a 7.7–7.9 magnitude, lasted about one minute and was the result of the rupturing of the northernmost 296 miles of the 800-mile San Andreas fault.The quake was felt from southern Oregon to south of Los Angeles and inland as far as central Nevada. One important characteristic of the shaking