San Francisco, CA
Santa Rosa: The 1906 earthquake almost lost to history
Santa Rosa prepares for next big earthquake
The Great 1906 earthquake devastated the Bay Area, destroying much of San Francisco and killing more than 3,000 people. The city marked the quakes 120th anniversary this weekend, but whats not as widely recognized is the damage to surrounding comunities like Santa Rosa.
SANTA ROSA, Calif. – While the Great 1906 Earthquake was a centerpiece of news around the world when its massive damage and fire destroyed much of San Francisco and took 3,000 lives, another far smaller, far less famous town, suffered massive damage almost forgotten by history.
Nearly forgotten
On this day 120 years ago, stunned people were digging for survivors two nights after the quake. Like a demon in the night, the Great 1906 Earthquake also came to Santa Rosa also bent on mass death and destruction.
Eric Stanley is the history curator and deputy director of the Museum of Sonoma County in Santa Rosa that supplied these pictures. “Santa Rosa, in particular, was devastated by the 1906 earthquake,” he said.
Survivors were shaken awake as whole buildings collapsed around them or on them. “A good portion, a really significant portion, of downtown Santa Rosa was completely destroyed,” said Stanley.
Many never woke up; crushed to death in their sleep. There were over a hundred people killed in the 1906 earthquake in Santa Rosa that only had 7,000 people in it at the time,” said the curator.
Active fault line
Sixty-three years later, in 1969, a time of budding, but far better science-based building codes, a double shaker nonetheless did significant damage and killed one person. “Even understanding all those things, you kind of at the earlier stage of that in the sixties,” said Stanley.
Today, four of Santa Rosa’s School buildings lie near or on the Rodgers Creek Earthquake Fault, capable of up to a 7.3 magnitude rupture. One is already closed with another due to close at the end of the school year for budgetary reasons.
That leaves two elementary schools, Hidden Valley, alongside the fault and Proctor, on the fault. The school board says both are seismically sound and safe to continue operating. “The two that are remaining open are both the ones that have the potential and the ability to grow because the entire site is not impacted by the fault line,” said Nick Caston, Santa Rosa City School Board president.
Staying prepared
In other words, things can and will eventually be moved around.
“What we’re gonna end up having to do is redesign the campus over the next several decades to have our fields and our parking in the front, which are totally acceptable to be over a fault line and actually move our academic builds and our student-serving buildings to the back,” said Caston.
Ultimately, the pictures and relics museums hold from natural disasters are given to those who come, a lesson and a warning. “Real people went through these experiences and we really do have to be aware of that and do our very best to prepare for those kinds of things,” said Stanley.
The 1933 Field Act requires earthquake-safe construction of schools, with evolving seismic codes as we learn more.
San Francisco, CA
San Francisco Supervisor Jackie Fielder to return following mental health leave
San Francisco Supervisor Jackie Fielder will resume her duties next week after taking a three-month leave of absence due to mental health.
“I’m coming clear-eyed and grounded and eager to serve in this role again,” Fielder said in a video posted to social media Tuesday.
Fielder was first elected in 2024 to serve District 9, which includes the Mission District and Bernal Heights and Portola neighborhoods. In late March of this year, her staffers announced she was taking a leave of absence to address an “acute personal health crisis” after missing a few weeks of Board of Supervisors meetings.
“I left the work that I love so much, not because I wanted to, but because my mental health demanded it, and I say that with no shame,” she said.
In the video statement, Fielder mentioned that the pressure of serving as a supervisor took a toll on her mental health.
“I’ve often felt like the weight of this district and city is on my shoulders, and I, through this leave, have had the silver lining of understanding that it never has,” she said. “I was going 100 miles an hour since early 2023 when I started the campaign for supervisor, and being a grassroots candidate is a lot of elbow grease.”
Fielder’s staff continued some of the work in her district while she was gone. She thanked her colleagues and Mayor Daniel Lurie for their support and allowing her to be excused from meetings.
Fielder will return to work Monday and appear at the June 30 board meeting. She is also expected to host listening sessions in her district through July.
“I am an example that it is possible to come back and heal,” she said. “I could not be more honored to serve and more ready to serve.”
San Francisco, CA
Where to watch Athletics vs San Francisco Giants: TV channel, start time, streaming for June 23
What to know about MLB’s ABS robot umpire strike zone system
MLB launches ABS challenge system as players test robot umpire calls in a groundbreaking season.
The 2026 MLB season has surpassed the quarter mark, and after each team’s first 40 games, there’s plenty of reasons to tune in all summer long.
Chicago White Sox slugger Munetaka Murakami has already proven doubters wrong by launching 17 home runs, Pittsburgh’s Paul Skenes consistently looks like the best version of himself on the mound and Milwaukee ace Jacob Misiorowski is throwing harder than any starter in the majors.
The MLB action continues on Tuesday as the Athletics visit the San Francisco Giants.
Here’s everything you need to know to tune in for the first pitch.
See USA TODAY’s sortable MLB schedule to filter by team or division.
What time is Athletics vs San Francisco Giants?
First pitch between the San Francisco Giants and Athletics is scheduled for 9:45 p.m. (ET) on Tuesday, June 23.
How to watch Athletics vs San Francisco Giants on Tuesday
All times Eastern and accurate as of Tuesday, June 23, 2026, at 6:33 a.m.
Watch MLB all season long with Fubo
MLB regional blackout restrictions apply
MLB scores, results
MLB scores for June 23 games are available on usatoday.com . Here’s how to access today’s results:
See scores, results for all of today’s games.
San Francisco, CA
San Francisco home with a history of squatters hits the market for $1.3 million
An abandoned house near San Francisco’s Castro neighborhood that has been popular with squatters for years is now for sale.
On Yukon Street at the edge of Kite Hill in the Eureka Valley neighborhood, the house with arched windows over the garage, including one that’s broken, is listed for $1.3 million.
Listing agent Zara Rowbotham and her brother, James, put together a promotional video highlighting the home’s fixer-upper potential.
There is no running water or power at the house. Neighbors have reported to the city that squatters relieve themselves at the top floor atrium.
“They needed a place to do it, so they had the nice manners to do it in one basket,” Rowbotham said. “Unfortunately it was an outside basket right in front of one of the neighbors’ houses.”
With the nature of San Francisco’s red-hot housing market, Rowbothom said they already have a potential buyer.
Rowbothom added the city is swirling with money right now and there are few places to buy, so properties like the one on Yukon Street – even with a history of squatters – are being snapped up quickly. Rowbothom said they’re going for millions of dollars, with people paying cash a lot of the time.
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