History.com has this for 18 April:
At 5:13 am on 18 April 1906, an earthquake estimated at close to 8.0 on the Richter scale struck San Francisco, California, killing hundreds of people and toppling numerous buildings. The quake was caused by a slip of the San Andreas Fault over a segment about 275 miles long, and shock waves could be felt from southern Oregon to Los Angeles.Rico says he missed it by fifty-plus years, but felt enough quakes in California to be happy he did...
San Francisco’s brick buildings and wooden Victorian-era structures were especially devastated. Fires immediately broke out and, because broken water mains prevented firefighters from stopping them, firestorms soon developed citywide. At 7 am, Army troops from Fort Mason reported to the Hall of Justice and San Francisco Mayor E.E. Schmitz called for the enforcement of a dusk-to-dawn curfew, authorizing soldiers to shoot to kill anyone found looting. Meanwhile, in the face of significant aftershocks, firefighters and troops fought desperately to control the ongoing fire, often dynamiting whole city blocks to create firewalls. On 20 April, twenty thousand refugees trapped by the massive fire were evacuated from the foot of Van Ness Avenue onto the USS Chicago.
By 23 April, most fires were extinguished, and authorities commenced the task of rebuilding the devastated metropolis. It was estimated that some three thousand people died as a result of the Great San Francisco Earthquake and the devastating fires it inflicted upon the city. Almost thirty thousand buildings were destroyed, including most of the city’s homes and nearly all the central business district.
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