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
Sold-Out SF Marathon 2026: The Races, Routes and Road Closures (Plus How to Watch It All) | KQED
Everything you need to know about the 2026 San Francisco Marathon weekend on July 25-26, including the route, the road closures and whether it’s too late to sign up.
If you still want to sign up for the SF Marathon, you still have time. (AN Studio/Getty)
Keep reading for the 2026 SF Marathon route, which streets will be closed, where to find public transit changes and how to watch from the sidelines if you’re a spectator.
We’ll also give an overview of all the weekend’s events and races themselves if you’re feeling spontaneously athletic (or want to meet people) and decide to sign up for a race at short notice.
And important to flag — several of these races now allow dogs.
Jump straight to:
What is the SF Marathon route, and when are the races?
The 26.2-mile main event — the full SF Marathon — is on Sunday, July 26. The full marathon starts at 5:15 a.m. on Embarcadero Street at Market Street and finishes on Embarcadero Street at Howard Street.
You can check out a map of the entire course on SF Marathon’s Strava account, which also includes elevation levels and first aid/water stops.
Is it really too late to sign up for the full marathon and 1st half marathon?
Yes, the full marathon — and the popular 1st half marathon over the Golden Gate Bridge — are both sold out.
According to officials, the spots went out “faster than ever” this year. But you can still join the waitlist and hope for the best.
“Spots do open up,” the website reads. “Plans change, runners defer, and entries become available again. When they do, the right wait list is the best way to secure yours.”
What are my other options for races around the SF Marathon that weekend?
Your other options for races during the SF Marathon weekend that are still accepting sign-ups include:
The City Half Marathon (Sunday)
This is the race where you get to run through San Francisco’s neighborhoods. It’s 13.1 miles with a 3.5-hour time limit and starts at 8:30 a.m. from MLK Jr. Drive at Golden Gate Park to Embarcadero at Howard.
Race fee:$303.74
The Alexi Pappas SFM 10K (Sunday)
This race is named after the Bay Area’s own Olympian Pappas and is a flat 6.2 miles that starts at 7 a.m. from The Embarcadero at Market Street to the Embarcadero near Washington Street. Dogs are now welcome for this race.
Race fee: $164.04
5K race (Saturday option)
This 5k allows your dog to run with you along the Embarcadero waterfront. Starting at 8 a.m, this is a 3.1-mile course with an hour limit.
Race fee: $120.04
5K race (Sunday option)
Dogs are also allowed at this Embarcadero waterfront race, but the race isn’t a loop like the Saturday option, instead starting at The Embarcadero at Market St. and ending at Embarcadero at Washington Street. This 3.1-mile race starts at 9 a.m. and has an hour limit.
Race fee: $118.94
Looking for something more family-friendly and chill? There is Sebastian’s 1K Mad Dash on Saturday, which is a little under a mile. It starts at 9 a.m., starting and finishing at Embarcadero and Washington. The race fee is $28.75.
If you can’t make it to San Francisco, you can join the race virtually by registering on the SF Marathon’s app. It’s $110.15 to join, and you’ll need to download the SF Marathon tracking app to follow your progress.
Which streets will be closed to cars and public transit for the SF Marathon?
The SF Marathon website breaks down which city streets will be closed for races at what time, along with some recommended detours.
There will be closures along The Embarcadero, Fisherman’s Wharf and in the Marina District. However, rest assured that vehicle traffic on the Golden Gate Bridge, which is on the route, will remain open in both directions throughout the marathon.
A lot of SF Muni lines will also be rerouted due to marathon weekend events.
SFMTA has not yet updated its guidance for this year, but you can peek at the 2025 list of route alterations, changes and closures to get a sense of what’s to come.
Where can I cheer the SF Marathon runners on?
Are you a good friend cheering on a runner? Make sure you know which race they are running in, and then look at the above section to check out the times and routes.
You can also track a runner’s progress using the SF Marathon app using a bib number.
Where can I find my pictures and results after the race?
Participants will have their pictures emailed to them a few days after the event — or on the race results and photos page on the SF Marathon website.
I need to bail. Can I defer my SF Marathon registration until next year?
Bailing? The people on the waitlist will thank you!
You can defer your registration to next year for a $39 fee, and the last day to do so is July 24. (That’s also the last day to convert your in-person race into a virtual one, if your plans have unexpectedly changed.)
Keep in mind that registration is nontransferable, and you cannot give or sell your bib to someone else.
What will the weather be like in San Francisco for the marathon?
Check the weather forecast again before you head out, as San Francisco weather can turn on a dime — and keep in mind that the National Weather Service forecasts the weather a week out.
Historically, the temperature around the courses is usually around 64°F, according to the SF Marathon website.
Whether you’re planning to participate in a race or just spectate, be sure to drink plenty of water well before going out.
You can also be strategic about how to combat heat by cooling your body’s pulse points, such as your neck, inside your elbows, and behind your knees, to bring quick relief. In case things get toasty, KQED has a thorough guide on how to stay safe during a heat wave.
The full marathon has 14 hydration stations, which include water, electrolytes, medical assistance, and toilets. The SF Marathon encourages runners to bring refillable water bottles that are 50 gallons or less.
What’s the best way of traveling to the SF Marathon starting line that morning?
If you’re trying to get to the race for the full marathon’s 5:15 a.m. start time on Sunday, remember: BART service does not start early enough to get you there, and you’ll miss your race.
Instead, the SF Marathon will have shuttles from six BART stations to get you to the starting line. There is free parking at BART stations, and buses will run very early in the morning. Times are subject to change, but the list of BART stations with shuttles is currently:
- Bay Fair (San Leandro) at 3:50 a.m.
- Daly City at 4:05 a.m.
- El Cerrito Plaza at 4:05 a.m.
- MacArthur at 4:05 a.m.
- Millbrae at 4:05 a.m.
- Walnut Creek at 3:55 a.m.
Buses aim to arrive by 4:30 a.m. at the Main Start Line on the Embarcadero. You’ll need to purchase your bus ticket ahead of time, though.
A vegetation fire was burning in northern Napa County Monday afternoon northeast of Angwin.
Cal Fire said the Hardin Fire began at about 2:40 p.m. in the area of Hardin Road and Pope Canyon Road, east of Chiles Pope Valley Road.
The fire had burned 55 acres as of 3 p.m.
A status report at 3:45 p.m. said that crews were making good progress on the fire and that there were no evacuation orders at this time.
As of 5:10 p.m. forward progress of the fire had been stopped, and containment was at 35%.
The cause was under investigation.
San Francisco, CA
A Leak of San Francisco Police Drone Footage Exposes the New Reality of Urban Surveillance
Just after noon on a Saturday last month, a Skydio X10 quadcopter hovered about 200 feet over a San Francisco apartment complex, watching police chase a man hiding behind a parked car. The target of this manhunt lay down on the pavement, apparently unaware that he remained in full view of the flying eye overhead. The 5-pound drone had, in fact, already followed him across the city, zooming in on his black SUV’s license plate, keeping the vehicle locked at the center of its video frame until he pulled over. Now it watched the police as they closed in and surrounded him.
As the officers approached, the man adjusted his hiding spot, moving to the other side of the parked car. At that moment, however, another Skydio drone zoomed in on his location, one of four Skydio quadcopters that had followed the man in just the prior hour. This one had been called away from a nearby McDonald’s, where it had been watching two people who’d exited the suspect’s car a few minutes earlier—and now began watching him from a second angle.
Within seconds, three officers converged on the man, two pointing weapons at him, then tackled him as half a dozen more police arrived on the scene. Police records provided to WIRED by the San Francisco Police Department show the entire street-and-sky response followed from what the SFPD described as an alleged “auto boost/strip” incident—the suspected theft of car parts or another object from a vehicle.
This glimpse of modern drone-enabled police surveillance, including the highly sensitive video of the man’s physical takedown, wasn’t voluntarily released by the SFPD—which, like most US police departments, rarely releases drone videos even in response to public records requests. Instead, it was accidentally livestreamed onto the open internet via Skydio’s website. That’s where two security researchers, Sam Curry and Maik Robert, discovered that the SFPD was leaking all of the real-time footage from five of its surveillance drones, including both color and thermal imaging, accompanying location metadata, and the drone pilots’ names and email addresses, to anyone who merely found the public web address where the videos were hosted.
Curry and Robert say they reported their discovery to Skydio around two days after discovering it, and it was quickly taken offline. By then, though, the researchers had watched police carry out what appeared to be multiple arrests and searches as well as tracking cars and individuals from the sky, all visible at a fully public web address.
“There’s a certain trust given to the police to use these things correctly,” says Curry. “When you’re watching a drone feed live, you can look into dozens of different apartments, you can see police zooming in on people, you can see arrests. The fact that all of this was exposed feels like a really big issue from a privacy perspective.”
The leaked feed of video captures two forced detentions—whether any actual arrests were made is unclear from the footage—a police visit to an apartment in a high-rise apartment building, and an apparent search of an alley populated with homeless people, as well as numerous other more ambiguous instances where police used drones to surveil individuals, vehicles, or buildings. While the feed remained live, Curry and Robert began archiving the public stream of data and videos and later shared the results with WIRED.
The archive Curry and Robert captured offers a detailed record of SFPD drone operations over about 48 hours in mid-June. It includes 60 videos from 20 separate flights, with each mission recorded from three feeds: a color camera, a thermal camera that renders people as heat signatures, and a third view from the drone’s rooftop dock. WIRED analyzed all 20 color videos with software that detects people, vehicles, and other objects in images. The review found that the cameras had filmed hundreds of people and vehicles across the 20 flights. In a single frame, as a drone hovered over a downtown intersection, the software counted 34 people crossing the street or standing on the sidewalks. Across all of the videos the footage showed clear faces of dozens of people.
Together, the videos amount to more than three hours of aerial color footage and roughly the same amount of thermal footage. The archive also includes second-by-second telemetry logs for every flight—more than 5,000 GPS points in all tracing over some 44 miles—recording each drone’s latitude and longitude, altitude, speed, heading, and battery level from takeoff to landing. Six SFPD pilots’ names and email addresses also appear across the logs.
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