The devil’s torch came in three

A LOOK BACK

For nearly 98 years, the residents of Huntington Beach have

enjoyed a peaceful way of life.

Oh sure, there were floods, two world wars and an earthquake to

interrupt their tranquil atmosphere, but those were no problem. But

there was one word that struck terror in the hearts of Huntington

Beach residents -- fire. We’re not talking about a simple grease fire

over a cooking stove at home, or even the burning of weeds in some

vacant lot in town. What we’ll be looking at this week is oil well

fires, and not just any oil well fires at that.

A while back we saw how a peaceful morning in June of 1949 turned

into a nightmarish three-and-a-half days of horror when the gas in a

well at Goldenwest Street and Pacific Coast Highway caught fire. That

fire lit up the sky and could be seen as far away as Catalina Island

as the flames of the devil’s torch reached skyward for 150 feet. That

fire started as gas came up to the surface and was accidentally

ignited.

In those awful days it melted the 100-foot derrick, and that

toppled across the Pacific Coast Highway. That accident cost $200,000

and many man-hours of time for our firefighters. They say that

accidents sometimes happen in threes and as you read you’ll find that

they sometimes man helps that along. It had been a peaceful evening

that Sunday, Jan. 5, 1936. Our residents were at home having diner

and listening to the radio, when suddenly they heard an explosion.

The sound came from an area near 19th Street and Olive Avenue. As

people came out of their homes they saw the wooden oil derrick of the

Benito-Huntington well ablaze from the bottom flooring to the top of

its crown block.

As the burning gas spewed from the well it ignited oil-soaked

timbers and an oil sump hole nearby. It had only been a few minutes

since the people heard the explosion, but now the rig was a blazing

inferno.

Our gallant volunteer firefighters had arrived to begin the slow

process of getting the oil fire under control. After about 20 minutes

the blazing wooden derrick fell to the ground. Our heroic volunteer

firefighters worked extra hard and fast to save the homes that were

located in the town lot field in the Downtown where our residents

lived. Working for more than an hour they were able to get it under

control.

This well was owned by the noted softball player, Joe Rodgers and

by Al Brain, Joe Cooper and E.E. Fairbanks.

This fire did $10,000 damage and lucky for the owners it was

covered by insurance.

Our next oil well fire happened on Wednesday, Jan. 8, 1936 at

around 6:30 p.m. at a well located at 17th Street and Acacia Avenue.

The firefighters were lucky with this fire to get it under control

early. When they arrived at the well they saw searing flames climbing

up the old wooden derrick. If they hadn’t arrived early, a much more

disastrous fire could have resulted because their big pumping unit

lay in pieces being repaired at the station.

This fire started in an old dog house at the base of the derrick.

Our last oil well fire began on Friday, Jan. 10, 1936. This well

was located at 14th and Main streets and was owned by Standard Oil

Co.

This well had been idle for several months when a blaze began. It

was in the evening when R.E. Clark and H.L. Wright, two oilmen

working across from Standard’s E-4 well, noticed a small fire coming

from the base of the derrick.

They quickly called in an alarm and another potential disastrous

fire was avoided.

But it was what Clark and Wright saw when they first spotted the

blaze that was suspicious. They told police they spotted a man

running away from the fire.

When an investigation was conducted it was found that papers had

been piled around the base of the derrick. What’s more, when they

investigated the Wednesday fire and found that it too had been set.

The fire on Sunday was caused by gas coming from the well while it

was being surveyed to see if it encroached on state-owned tidelands.

Three oil well fire in a week and two were lit by man. A house on

the east side of town had also been torched by someone that month.

For many nights afterward, both the volunteer firefighters and our

local police patrolled the oil fields nightly. Who that firebug who

lighted the devil’s torches will forever remain a mystery. But those

volunteer firefighters who fought those oil well fires that week in

January will forever remain heroes to all of us.

* JERRY PERSON is a local historian and longtime Huntington

Beach resident. If you have ideas for future columns, write him at

P.O. Box 7182, Huntington Beach, CA 92615.