Close-up view of refugees fleeing along Grove Street from the Ham & Egg fire. This fire started in a house on the south side of Hayes Street when a woman started a fire in her stove to make breakfast around 9 AM. The chimney was defective due to the quake and fire broke out. This fire burned more territory than any other single fire, since all fire departments were engaged elsewhere no concentrated attack was possible, so the fire spread out of control reaching Gough and Grove Streets. The fire caused the destruction of the Mission district as well as the Hayes Valley section, including the Mechanics' Pavilion and the City Hall. The earthquake hit at 5:12:05 AM, measuring 8.25 on the...

The original finding aid described this photograph as:

[Complete] Scene Caption: Close-up view of refugees fleeing along Grove Street from the Ham & Egg fire. This fire started in a house on the south side of Hayes Street when a woman started a fire in her stove to make breakfast around 9 AM. The chimney was defective due to the quake and fire broke out. This fire burned more territory than any other single fire, since all fire departments were engaged elsewhere no concentrated attack was possible, so the fire spread out of control reaching Gough and Grove Streets. The fire caused the destruction of the Mission district as well as the Hayes Valley section, including the Mechanics' Pavilion and the City Hall. The earthquake hit at 5:12:05 AM, measuring 8.25 on the present Richter scale.

Base: San Francisco

State: California (CA)

Country: United States Of America (USA)

Scene Camera Operator: A. Blumberg

Release Status: Released to Public
Combined Military Service Digital Photographic Files