1969 — Jan 18-26, Storms, Flooding, Mudslides, Vehicle deaths, Southern CA –97-103

–100-103 Red Bluff Daily News, CA. “Wind-Whipped Snow Sweeping…[NW],” 2-1-1969, 1
— 95-102 Oakland Tribune, CA. “Disaster Status for Half Calif.” 1-30-1969, A2.
— 92-100 San Mateo Times, CA. “South State Cleaning Up After Storm.” 1-8-1969, 3.
— 97 Blanchard tally based on type of event breakout below.
— 95 Davis, Lee Allyn. Natural Disasters. 1992, p. 13.
— 95 Nash, Jay Robert. Darkest Hours. 1977, p. 644.
— 95 The Argus, Fremont, CA. “More Flood Fears to South State.” 1-29-1969, 2.
— 91 Cornell, James. The Great International Disaster Book (Third Edition). 1982, p. 185.
— 91 History.com. This Day in History, Disaster, Jan 18, 1969. “Heavy Rain Leads to…”
— 88 Tufty. 1001 Questions…Hurricanes, Tornadoes…Natural…Disasters. 1987, 250.
— 87 NOAA. A History of Significant Weather Events in Southern California. Jan 2007.
— 87 The Argus, Fremont, CA. “Southern California Storms Leave 87 Dead.” 1-27-1969, 2.
— 63 Valley News, Van Nuys. “Evidence of Storm’s Fury…in Stark Hillsides.” 1-28-69, 1.
— 60 County of L.A., CEO. “Historical Disaster Information — Floods and mudslides.”
— 60 Paulson, et al. “National Water Summary 1988-89 – Hydrologic Events…Floods…”
— 47 Redlands Daily Facts, CA. “Mudslide victims digging out.” 1-23-1969, 13.
— >45 U.S. Dept. Commerce. Climatological Data. 1969, p. 1092.
— 26 Oakland Tribune, CA. “Storm Pounds on, Death Toll Heavy.” 1-20-1969, p. 1.
— 10 Jan 25, traffic, mudslides. Van Nuys News. “Storm Kills Ten in Valley…” 1-26-69, 1

— 1 Cave-in. Oakland Tribune, CA. “Disaster Status for Half Calif.” 1-30-1969, A2.
— 4 Drownings, Jan 18-19. Oakland Tribune. “Storm…Toll Heavy.” 1-20-1969, p. 1.
–10 “ Jan 20, Redlands Daily Facts, CA. “10 drown as bulldozer…” 1-21-1969, 25.
–17 “ The Argus, Fremont, CA. “87 Killed as Flood Waters Batter…” 1-27-1969, 1.
— 1 Heart attack, sandbagging. The Argus, Fremont, CA. “87 Killed as Flood…” 1-27-1969, 1.
— 1 “ helicopter rescue. The Argus, Fremont, CA. “87 Killed as Flood…” 1-27-1969, 1
–16 Mudslides. Blanchard tally based on breakouts below.
–14 “ The Argus, Fremont, CA. “More Flood Fears to South State.” 1-29-1969, 2.)
–13 “ LA County. LA Times. “Los Angeles County Mudslides.” 2-25-1993.
–12 “ The Argus, Fremont, CA. “87 Killed as Flood Waters Batter…” 1-27-1969, 1.
— 1 Mudslide, Jan 25, Brentwood. Daily Review, Hayward, CA. “Mudslide…” 1-25-1969, 1.
— 1 “ Jan 25, Encino, Deerhorn Road, Van Nuys News. “Storm Kills…” 1-26-69, 22
— 2 “ Jan 25, Glendale, Buckingham Rd. Van Nuys News. “Storm…” 1-26-1969, 22.
— 2 “ Jan 25, Glendale, Chevy Chase Canyon, USGS. Geological… Research 1973. 39
— 2 “ Jan 25, Highland Park. Hamilton. “Hazards on Alluvial Fans…” 2-5-2008, No. 6
— 1 “ Jan 25, Sherman Oaks, Shearview Dr. Van Nuys News. “Storm…” 1-26-1969, 20
— 1 “ Jan 25, Thousand Oaks, 818 Combes Rd. USGS. Geological… Research 1973.40
— 3 “ Jan 25, Topanga Canyon, 539 Creek Trail, Van Nuys News. 1-26-1969, 1.
— 1 “ Jan 25, Topanga Can., 847 Old Topanga Canyon Rd., Van Nuys News. 1-26-96.
— 2 “ Jan 29 (found). Argus, Fremont. “More Flood Fears to South State.” 1-29-69, 2.
— 4 Plane crashes. Oakland Tribune. “Storm…Toll Heavy.” 1-20-1969, p. 1.
–53 Vehicles. Blanchard tally based on reports below.
–18 “ Jan 18-19. Oakland Tribune. “Storm…Toll Heavy.” 1-20-1969, p. 1.
— 2 “ Jan 25. Van Nuys News, CA. “Storm Kills Ten in Valley Area.” 1-26-1969, 1.
–52 “ The Argus, Fremont, CA. “87 Killed as Flood Waters Batter…” 1-27-1969, 1.
— 1 “ Oakland Tribune, CA. “Disaster Status for Half Calif.” 1-30-1969, A2.
— 3 Unknown, bodies found on Jan 31. Red Bluff Daily News, CA. “Wind…” 2-1-1969, 1.
— 1 “ Feb 1 (found). Valley News, Van Nuys, CA. “Front Passes…” 2-2-1969, 1 & 6.

Jan 18-19: “There was no letup in sight today for the massive Pacific storm which lashed most of California over the weekend, causing 20 traffic deaths, drownings, air crashes, flooding and disruptions in transportation and communications….The heaviest death toll was in Southern California where 18 persons died on the highways and four others drowned….” (Oakland Tribune, CA. “Storm Pounds on, Death Toll Heavy.” 1-20-1969, p. 1.)

Jan 20 Bulldozer Rescue Attempt, Sespe Creek, Los Padres National Forest Drownings:

–10 Oakland Tribune, CA. “10 Swept to Death in Creek.” 1-22-1969, p. 1.
–10 Press Courier, Oxnard CA. “10 Feared Dead in Sespe.” 1-22-1969, p. 1.
–10 Press-Courier, Oxnard, CA. “Five Bodies Recovered; Rain May Halt Search.” 1-23-69, 1-2
–10 Press-Courier, Oxnard, CA. “One by One, Rescuers Swept Away.” 1-23-1969, 1-2.
–10 Press-Courier, Oxnard, CA. “Tragedy at Sespe Said Needless.” 1-24-1969, 2.
–10 Press-Courier, Oxnard, CA. “Tragedy Came After 15 Sespe Crossings.” 1-24-1969, 1.
–10 Redlands Daily Facts, CA. “10 drown as bulldozer fails to cross creek.” 1-21-1969, 25.
–10 Zimmermann, Tim. “Hell in High Water.” Outsideonline.com, 1-25-2008.

Narrative Information

Jan 21, UPI: “Santa Paula, Calif. (UPI) — Ten persons fleeing a torrential rainstorm in rugged mountain country were swept from a rescue bulldozer “one by one” when it stalled in a swollen creek.

“Authorities said all of them, including six children, were presumed drowned.

“The Ventura County sheriff’s office first learned of the tragedy late Tuesday from the sole survivor who was picked up by a helicopter near the raging Sespe Creek in the Los Padres National Forest.

“The dead included six youths from Canoga Park, Calif., and a man who took them for an outing in the forest last Friday just before a series of violent rainstorms hit the state. The three other victims were members of a search party which was bringing them out of the lonely area Monday night about 35 miles north of here.

“The survivor was Scott Eckersley, 28, a housefather at Live Oak School in the Ojai Valley, who met the boys at a campground on Saturday. He invited them to take shelter in his camper truck when rain started to fall. Recalling his experience early today, Eckersley said:

“It was so fantastic to understand that these young children could comprehend what was going to happen to them and not panic, scream or holler or carry on. They actually played among themselves as they went from us and disappeared! It was absolutely unbelievable.”

“The boys, ranging in age from 10 to 13, and their leader, Robert Samples, broke into a cabin at the campgrounds Sunday afternoon with Eckersley to wait out the storm.

“Meanwhile, the rescue-team set out for the area on a Navy bulldozer, borrowed from a Seabee training camp at Rose Valley in the national forest. The three rescuers reached the cabin early Monday night, Eckersley said. With the children perched on the hood and fenders, the group set out for civilization.

“Disaster struck when they attempted to ford the Sespe Creek, swollen to eight feet deep by three days of rain. “We were riding out on the caterpillar and got to the middle of the creek”, Eckersley said. “But the water was too deep and it rose up over all of us and we went one by one. We were all getting numb from the cold and just slipped away.”

“Navy Chief Petty Officer Robert Sears was the first to go, Eckersley said. “He went quickly and then the kids went one by one and soon there were only two of us left. The deputy sheriff and myself.” Eckersley said the deputy, Chester Larson, was sitting on the rear of the bulldozer. “When he went he fell into me and I held him for a while. Whatever I was holding onto with my other hand broke, and we both went in. We were the last to go in.”

“Eckersley said he went under the stormy surface of the creek twice and struck a rock with his back as we was swept downstream. “The next thing I remember I was lying in a pool and I crawled up on the bank. I wasn’t sure whether I was dead or alive.”

“He crawled up a small hill under some brush and dug a hole in the mud, squeezed inside and covered himself with the ooze to keep warm. He lay there until Tuesday morning when he walked back upstream about four miles to a stalled car he remembered seeing on the bulldozer trip. He spent all of Tuesday in the car. A rescue helicopter arrived overhead in late afternoon and Eckersley flagged it down. A sore hip and minor exposure were the extent of his injuries.”
(Redlands Daily Facts, CA. “10 drown as bulldozer fails to cross creek.” 1-21-1969, 25.)

Jan 22, AP: “Ojai (AP)…. Missing were a camping party of youngsters from Canoga Park and their adult escort, and a Navy Seabee, a forest ranger and a sheriff’s deputy who tried to save them.

“John Scott Eckersley, 28, Ojai school teacher who also was on the bulldozer but reached the stream’s bank and was rescued, gave a dramatic account. Hiking alone, he joined up Saturday with the camping group stranded by rain in mountainous Los Padres National Forest alongside Sespe Creek. They huddled in a cabin for two nights and late Monday a big bulldozer came to take them to safety. But it stalled in the creek early yesterday, with waters rising. The driver, Navy Chief Petty Officer Bob Sears of Point Hueneme, had everybody get atop the vehicle. ‘When water reached us it froze them numb,’ Eckersley said.

‘Most of us were on the rear and held on to each other. I grabbed one boy and pulled him back and put him in front of me. The chief was first to go. He just froze. Then something came by – a log or something – and took the boy I was holding. I don’t know the order after that. The last was the deputy. We talked about death and dying as the water kept rising. He said the Lord had it all planned. Maybe five minutes later he slipped off and I held him another five minutes. Then I could hole no longer and we both went in. I went down choking and couldn’t breathe. The next thing I knew I was lying on shore. I spent the night with almost no clothes, freezing. I buried myself in mud to keep warm. I got up and walked barefoot about four miles back to a stalled vehicle.’

“Later, he flagged down a helicopter and was flown to a hospital where he was treated and released. The helicopter was looking for the bulldozer.

“‘The boys were in excellent spirits in the cabin,’ Eckersley said. ‘There was a beautiful noise of children all around.’

“Sears, 42, wounded 13 months ago in Vietnam, volunteered to bring the group out. All went well, even though the bulldozer caused landslides as in proceeded along normally placid Sespe Creek. Then it stalled in seven feet of water while crossing the stream.

“Also missing were sheriff’s deputy Chester Larson and U.S. Ranger Jim Greenhill. The boys were identified as Ronnie and Bobby Castle, 13 and 14, Frank Donato, 13, John Rauh, 14, and Donnie and Eddie Salsbury, 10 and 12. Their adult leader was Robert Samples, 42.” (Oakland Tribune, CA. “10 Swept to Death in Creek.” 1-22-1969, p. 1.)

Jan 22, Oxnard Press Courier: “A team of sheriff’s deputies and U.S. Marines today searched a remote canyon high above Ojai for 10 persons swept one by one from a stalled Navy rescue vehicle by the raging waters of rain-swollen Sespe Creek….

“The story of tragedy was told late Tuesday by the sole survivor who was picked up by a helicopter near Sespe Creek, located in the Sespe Wildlife Refuge area of Los Padres National Forest. Presumed drowned were Sheriff’s Deputy Chester “Chico” Larson, 34, resident deputy of
Lockwood Valley; U. S. Forest Ranger Jim Greenhill, 36, of the Piedra Blanca Ranger Station; and Navy Chief Petty Officer Robert L. Sears, 42, of 441 W. Aleric St., Oxnard….

“Samples had driven the boys to the Sespe Hot Springs area on Friday for an outing just before a major rainstorm struck the area Saturday noon. The survivor, Scott Eckersley, 28, a teacher at Live Oaks School in Ojai Valley, who miraculously escaped death himself, tearfully recalled the tragic experience:

We were heading out of the canyon on the Caterpillar and were crossing the creek about midnight Tuesday when suddenly there was a cloudburst and water began surging in the creek. We were then hit by a big wave….

Eckersley had been camping alone in the area when it began to rain. Joining the boys and Samples, he helped break into a mountain cabin at the camp site Sunday afternoon to wait out the storm. Meanwhile, a rescue team (Sears, Larson and Greenhill) set out for the area on a Navy bulldozer from the Seabee training camp at Rose Valley. The rescuers reached the cabin early Monday night and Deputy Larson radioed that all were in good condition and were heading out. That was at 8:10 p.m. Monday….”

(Oxnard Press Courier, CA. “10 Feared Dead in Sespe.” 1-22-1969, p. 1.)

Jan 23, Oxnard Press Courier: “Sheriff’s deputies and Marine helicopters worked under gathering clouds today in the search for the remaining bodies of persons who drowned in the raging Sespe River during a rescue mission which backfired….Five bodies were located Wednesday….The first body to be recovered was that of John Rauh, 14, one of six boys from Canoga Park who were on a weekend camping trip with an adult leader, Robert Samples, 50. Samples is still among the missing. Young Rauh’s body was pulled from the tractor where it had apparently been pinned when he was drowned by the rapidly rising Sespe waters.

“The bodies of two brothers, Donnie, 10, and Eddie Salsbury, 12, along with those of sheriff’s deputy Chester Larson, 34, and forest ranger Jim Greenhill, 36, were pulled from water graves as far down stream as five miles from the tractor.

“The five bodies were flown out by helicopter to Henderson Airport in Mira Monte and then transported to Clausen Mortuary in Ojai, where further disposition was pending.

“Deputy coroner Leo Richardson said the bodies were badly skinned and marked from the turbulent passage through the rock-studded river. Identification of each was easily made, according to Richardson….

“The lone survivor, John Scott Eckersley, 28, a house-parent at the Live Oak School in Ojai Valley, told deputies he had been on a camping trip in the area alone when he ran into Samples and the boys late Sunday night after his pickup truck had become mired in the mud Eckersley said that after the arrival of the rescue tractor driven by Seabee Chief Robert Sears, 42, and carrying Larson and Greenhill, he asked if he could be taken out with the group….

“Investigation by deputies who talked with parents of the drowned boys revealed that the adults knew little or nothing about Samples. They said they knew him only as “an adult friend who liked to take the boys on camping trips.” Samples had brought a group up to the same area just the weekend before the tragedy deputies reported.

Chet Larson, the resident deputy sheriff of Lockwood Valley, had been called out Sunday night and rescued four girls from an Ojai Valley School bus which was stuck in the mud. The bus was still there this morning….

“When searchers ended their hunt Wednesday at dark they were directly north of Fillmore. At that point the Sespe curves south and becomes what is known as the Lower Sespe. The entire route of the river is snakelike in curves and in some places is inaccessible by foot. As the river flows southward it winds its way on the west side of Fillmore, then empties into the larger Santa Clara River which ends between Oxnard and Ventura at the ocean.

“Various lookouts were set up Wednesday along the Santa Clara from Fillmore to the ocean. deputies said.” (Press-Courier, Oxnard, CA. “Five Bodies Recovered; Rain May Halt Search.” 1-23-1969, 1-2.)

Jan 23, Oxnard Press Courier: “….They were only a few miles away from warm clothes and a hot meal late Monday night when the cloud-burst struck…

“Sears, who had narrowly escaped death in Vietnam last year, was only a few hours from his 42nd birthday when he was pitched into the muddy creek. The chief had never fully recovered from wounds suffered during a mortar shelling at Cam Ranh Bay last year, Navy officials said. Sears was in his bunk when a mortar round exploded under the floor of his hut, blowing him through a wall. Sears suffered two broken shoulders, fractured ribs, two broken arms, a fractured skull and numerous lacerations. Three medical aides had passed him by for dead. But a fourth corpsman took a closer look at Sears and discovered the chief was alive — barely. Sears was flown to Naval facilities at Yokosuka, Japan, for treatment and then later sent to the United States. The chief was an instructor at the Seabee’s Rose Valley training camp. The men there are used to volunteering their services when hikers become lost and Sears was no exception.

“After an early lunch Monday, Sears, Larson and Greenhill headed the ‘dozer towards the Sespe. At 8 p.m., Larson radioed that all were in good condition and they were heading for the Seabee camp. It was the last anyone heard from them.

“Greenhill was a veteran outdoorsman who enjoyed the hunting and the clean air. He and his wife Karen and three-year-old sun lived at the Piedro Blancas Ranger Station. ‘He was a dedicated Forest Service man,’ Rust continued [Carl Rust, resource forester, Ojai Ranger Station] ‘He was one of our top fire fighters, well-experienced and we counted on him heavily.’

“`Chico’ Larson could also handle himself in a tight spot. As a Sheriff’s deputy, his beat was 560-square miles of the Los Padres National Forest. There were few crimes committed in the area and most of Larson’s work involved public service and rescue operations. ‘I love every minute of it,’ Larson had once said. The deputy said he hoped to remain in the mountains for a ‘long time’ because it was ‘just wonderful up here.’ Larson, who resided in the Lockwood Valley with his wife, Pat, and two sons, had worked closely with the forest rangers in the area, especially on weekends when between 5,000 and 7,000 campers used the area.

“The rescuers were used to helping others, and although two of them were experienced outdoorsmen, the treachery of the flood was too quick….” (Press-Courier, Oxnard, CA. “One by One, Rescuers Swept Away.” 1-23-1969, 1-2.)

Jan 24, Oxnard Press Courier: “Six boys and four men who were swept to their deaths in the flooded Sespe River had crossed the river 15 times in a Navy bulldozer before the giant vehicle dropped into a deep hole midstream of the 16th crossing….

“Five bodies were found Wednesday along a 5-mile path of the rugged Sespe. The others are still missing, and searching operations were halted Thursday [Jan 23] at noon because of a new storm….

“Eckersley, in reconstructing the events which led up to the tragedy, said that he and Samples and the boys could have stayed all night in the cabin where they were found by Larson, a ranger and a Seabee who drove the bulldozer. ‘The three men who came to save us made the decision,’ Eckersley said. ‘They did not talk it over with us. They seemed like very wise men. Both Samples and I turned ourselves over to them.’

“The three – Larson, U.S. Forest Ranger Jim Greenhill, 37, and CPO Robert Sears, 35 – had forded the creek 18 times and covered 20 miles to reach the stranded group. Eckersley said the three men described their trip through the swollen waters and said, ‘It was slow going but presented no particular danger.’

“The boys, aged 10 to 14, ‘were extremely happy when the rescue team arrived,’ Eckersley said. ‘They were cold, wet and hungry – eager to get out of the canyon.’ The group set out from the cabin toward the Seabee camp at Rose Valley with Samples riding on top of the bulldozer, holding Eddie Salsbury, 10, the youngest member of the party. Greenhill, the ranger, sat at the front of the dozer, holding a high-powered flashlight. One of the headlights on the machine was out. ‘The rest of us walked in front of the bulldozer,’ Eckersley said.

‘Whenever we crossed the stream, or got into extra-ordinarily muddy places, we’d all climb on the cat, stand on top and hold on to little handrails. We had crossed the stream 15 times. There were only three more crossings — five to six more miles – to reach the Seabee base. I suppose it was around midnight, maybe 1 or 2 Tuesday morning. I lost track of time…We had crossed the stream so many times before that we didn’t think anything about going through the water at this point. In the middle of the stream we sank into a hole. We were up to our waists in water. The bulldozer stalled. The chief tried to get it started….There was absolutely nothing we could do. We had no rope. We couldn’t link arms. Nothing. Just sit there in the middle of all that rushing, rising water. It was pitch dark and pouring rain. The bulldozer was 8 feet high. The water kept rising. We all knew we would die. I knew I was going to die. The water covered the bulldozer. Then it rose up over all of us. One by one we got numb from the cold and slipped away – one by one…’

“Several deputies, discussing the tragedy Thursday, said they just couldn’t believe Larson could have died. ‘If there is anyone I have ever known,’ one of them commented,’ who could survive any kind of weather or flood, it would be Chico (a name more popularly used by Larson) because he was strong as a bull and conditioned for survival.’ However, another deputy pointed to the fact that both Larson and Greenhill, the ranger, were wearing heavy, high-top rubber boots, rubber rain paints and heavy rubber rain jackets. If caught in the stream, water would immediately fill their boots and pants, creating a weight that would make it almost impossible to swim or surface….

“All of the youngsters lived in the same neighborhood in Canoga Park and all were members of the same Catholic church. A church spokesman said a fund raising campaign had been started to help the families meet the expenses of funeral costs.” (Press Courier, Oxnard, CA. “Tragedy Came After 15 Sespe Crossings.” 1-24-1969, 1.)

Jan 24, Oxnard Press Courier: “James E. Sorenson, president of the National Reclamation Association, Thursday called the 10 drownings in Sespe Creek ‘tragic and totally needless.’ Speaking before the annual Bureau of Reclamation and Water Users conference in Sacramento, Sorenson said stream control by dams on the rivers of the Sierra Nevada mountains had reduced or eliminated the flood havoc which periodically visited Sacramento, Yuba City, Marysville and other California cities. ‘On the opposite side of the picture,” Sorenson said, “The tragic deaths of 10 Ventura County citizens in Sespe Creek this week would not have occurred if the Sespe Creek project with its flood control provision at Cold Spring Dam had been completed.”

“The $90 million Sespe Creek project, envisioning two dams for water conservation and flood control, was proposed by the United Water Conservation District. It was defeated at the polls in 1965 by 17 votes. The opposition was led largely by the Audubon Society and the Sierra Club who felt the project might disturb some 50 condors nesting in the Sespe mountains, a United spokesman said.” (Press-Courier, Oxnard, CA. “Tragedy at Sespe Said Needless.” 1-24-1969, 2)

Feb 14, Oxnard Press Courier: “The last search up the Sespe for those missing five bodies resulted in finding the jacket of Chico Larson, the sheriff’s deputy. Searchers also noted that the bulldozer that they had been swept off of had a piece of rope tied to it. However, a section of the rope had been torn off. It left them wondering what significance the rope might have played at the time of the drownings. Probably no one will ever know.” (Press Courier, Oxnard, CA. “The Last Search.” 2-14-1969, 11.)

Oct 13, Oxnard Press Courier: “The Sheriff’s Department is presently mapping out tentative plans that may carry a rescue team along the banks of a creek in Los Padres National Forest to the mouth of a river in Ventura in search of the bodies of four persons. In announcing the plans to resume the search, Sheriff William E. Hill said “we will exhaust — time and weather permitting — every possible avenue in an attempt to recover the bodies.”….

“A small glitter of hope for finding the bodies was raised last Saturday night [March 8] when two Seabees of Port Hueneme found the body of one of the victims, Edward Salisbury, 13, of Canoga Park, along Santa Clara River in the Oxnard area.

“Sheriff Hill, noting that the Sespe Creek was still high from the two torrential rain storms that lashed the county for more than 30 days, says the search will resume just as soon as the water subsides…” (Press Courier, Oxnard CA. “Sheriff Dept. Poised for Sespe Quest.” 3-13-1969, 11)

Zimmermann: “….The downpour began Saturday, January 18, and almost immediately the Ventura County Sheriff’s Department sent search-and-rescue teams into the Los Padres National Forest, about 100 miles northwest of Los Angeles, where on any given weekend there could be thousands of visitors. Many drove in to campsites via a dirt road that snaked back and forth across Sespe Creek, which carves its way through 50 miles of steep canyons and sharp switchbacks. When the road got wet, it swiftly turned into an impassable bog.

“On Monday morning, January 20, the Ventura County Sheriff’s Department received a phone call. The caller said that six young boys from the Canoga Park area, on the edges of Los Angeles, and their chaperone, Robert Samples, had been camping along the Sespe over the weekend and were overdue. The caller thought they were probably somewhere near Sespe Hot Springs, a popular destination about 15 miles away from Lion Camp, the trailhead where the creek road began.

“Deputy Sheriff Gary Creagle was dispatched to Lion Camp and reported back that the Sespe, normally less than a foot deep, was now running more than five feet deep at the first crossing. It might be days before any vehicles could get into the area by road, and the weather prevented flying. The sheriff’s department put in a radio call to Deputy Sheriff Chester Larson, up in Lockwood Valley, just north of the area. Could he get down to the U.S. Navy’s Rose Valley Seabee Training Center, which maintained the Sespe access road as part of its combat-construction training program, and help Creagle out?

“Larson was 34, with a lean face and a tight buzz cut. He’d met his wife, Pat, in the acrid oil town of Taft, over the mountains in the San Joaquin Valley. After he was nearly killed in a well explosion, he applied in 1964 to the Ventura County Sheriff’s Department, determined to build a better life for himself and his young wife. From the moment he made deputy, he had his eye on the Lockwood Valley post, which offered independence and hundreds of miles of beautiful backcountry to patrol. By early 1967, he and Pat were moving their six-year-old son, Mark, and their newborn, Steve, into the small gray house that came with the job. “Lockwood Valley was just right,” says Pat, now 68 and living quietly in a lakeside resort community two hours from Sacramento. “But his job came first. We came second. That’s how it had to be, and we accepted that.”

“Larson got the call to help Creagle just after lunch that rainy Monday. He put on his slicker, donned a yellow helmet outfitted with a miner’s lamp, and paused in the door, as he always did, to tell Pat he loved her. Then he disappeared into the rain, his German shepherd, Duke, at his heels.

“When he arrived at the Rose Valley base that afternoon, Larson suggested that a rescue party could get to the missing campers on one of the big bulldozers the Seabees had at the base. The International Harvester TD-20B was a monster, a staple of construction efforts in Vietnam; it weighed 15.5 tons. If anything could work its way down the muddy road along Sespe Creek and navigate its flooded crossings, it was this enormous machine. Chief Equipment Officer Robert Sears, 41, who’d been posted to Rose Valley after being badly wounded in Vietnam, volunteered to drive. Thirty-six-year-old Forest Service ranger James Greenhill, a Paul Bunyan of a man who knew the area intimately, also hopped on board. Larson left Duke in his truck and climbed up onto the growling machine.

“Almost 40 years later, I’m standing knee-deep in the cool water of Sespe Creek. It’s a transcendent, peaceful stream, and Steve Larson, now 41 years old and a public-school teacher from Sacramento, and I have been camping alongside it for a couple of days in June, with temperatures nudging 100 degrees. We’ve dumped our packs to relax near one of the many places where the trail crosses the creek, as we work our way back toward civilization.

“This isn’t just any crossing, though. This is the place where, in January 1969, the Sespe killed Deputy Sheriff Chester Larson, Steve’s father. It also killed three other men and the six young boys they were trying to evacuate from the area. “It probably happened right about here,” I call to Steve from the middle of the river, where it deepens ever so slightly.

“Steve doesn’t answer. He’s still on the bank, subdued by the weight of the past. He was just two years old when his father was killed, and after the tragedy he began to speak with a stutter. He was never told the details of the accident, only over and over that his father had died a hero. As he grew up, he was determined to escape the ghosts in his family. At 19, he went off to Chico State. There, he met Marcie, and they married in 1994. Now they live together with their two young children, Sarah and Owen, in Sacramento, where he’s been teaching for ten years. But a few years ago, just past the age his father died, Steve realized he needed to find out exactly what happened on the Sespe and what kind of man Chester Larson really had been—and how the rescue his father attempted had ended in so much death.

“After a while, Steve wades in and starts to wander alone among the dark boulders. The malign potential of the creek is hard to grasp. In fact, the only hint that the Sespe is capable of violence is the flood debris that necklaces the trees lining its banks. This is the first time he’s ever been here.

“Every year, people fall off rock faces, drown in rivers and lakes, succumb to exposure, and are broken or suffocated by avalanches. You almost never hear about these tragedies, unless they happen on Mount Everest or catch the attention of the cable-news beast. But these invisible disasters are searing nonetheless. They almost always involve moments of nobility and courage and heartbreaking miscalculation. They snuff out promising lives and heap sadness, guilt, and unanswered questions on the families and friends left behind. Nature unleashed—a howling storm, a flash flood, a blizzard—has elements of divinity and drama that expose perfectly the frailty and flaws of human nature.

“What’s the half-life of tragedy in the wild? In the case of the Sespe, I discover, the pain still runs hot through the lives of everyone involved. Steve is struggling over his feelings about the father he never knew. The families who lost children still experience a corrosive legacy of sorrow and anger. And the lone survivor of the accident continues to battle the agonizing sense that he somehow could have done more.

“It’s like cancer. We have cancer,” says Debra Cassol, 57, who was 18 when the Sespe killed her two younger brothers, Bobby and Ronny. “Sometimes we get a little remission and we’re not so sick. But then it always comes back. It always comes back.”

“Unbeknownst to Deputy Sheriff Larson and the rescue party, Robert Samples, 42, and the six boys he’d taken out for a weekend of camping — Bobby and Ronny Cassol, ages 14 and 12, Danny and Eddie Salisbury, 13 and 11, Frank Donato, 13, and Frank Rauh, 14 — were safe from the storm in a cabin on a grassy plateau called Coltrell Flat, near the Sespe. With them was Scott Eckersley, 28, an experienced outdoorsman who taught at the Live Oak School, in nearby Ojai.

“Eckersley had first seen Samples’ group at Sespe Hot Springs on Saturday when the rain started. He’d left immediately, in his converted 1953 GMC refrigerator truck, and gotten bogged down on a ridge overlooking the flat, a few miles along the road from the hot springs. Samples and the boys, who’d been target-shooting, left a little later in Samples’ 4×4 Dodge Power Wagon. They got stuck, too, on the ridge opposite Eckersley. Three of the boys had made their way to the Bear Creek campsite, ten miles upstream, where they were supposed to alert park rangers and wait. But they apparently didn’t find any rangers. Worried about their friends, they loaded up on supplies from the camper shell Samples had dropped there and hiked all the way back to Coltrell Flat on Sunday, barely managing some of the fast-moving crossings.

“By then Eckersley had hooked up with Samples and the remaining boys to see if he could help. With the rain continuing to pour down, Eckersley suggested they break into the cabin for shelter. By Monday evening they were holed up together, burning wooden chairs to keep cozy, eating stew made from some quail Eckersley had shot, and warming to their outdoor adventure.

“Eckersley figured they would wait the rain out. But as he was washing up after dinner, he heard a low rumble and then the gnash of gears. Samples grabbed a flashlight and ran outside waving it. A few minutes later, an enormous bulldozer manned by Sears, Larson, and Greenhill pulled up. Sears hopped down and carried a big box of rations into the cabin. The boys swarmed around, digging into crackers, candy bars, peanut butter, and other treats. One asked whether they were all going to ride on the bulldozer to get out. “No,” Larson answered, firmly. “We’re going to walk out.” The only time everyone would climb up on the machine would be for the creek crossings.

“It was now past 7 p.m., raining harder than ever, and getting cold. The boys had no raingear to speak of and only tennis shoes on their feet. Twelve and a half miles, with multiple crossings, lay between Coltrell Flat and the safety of Lion Camp. It was hard to imagine leaving the warmth of the cabin for the horrific conditions outside. But when the boys were told their parents would be waiting for them at the other end, everyone was eager to get going.

“Eckersley, however, wasn’t convinced. They had enough food. Why not wait until morning or until the rain stopped? Larson and Sears were determined to leave right away. There was another storm coming, they said. The bulldozer had gotten them in and it would get them all out. Eckersley grabbed his pack, and the group started the long march.

“It was worse than Eckersley had imagined. Everyone was soaked and getting colder by the minute. The mud was like glue. At the top of the first ridge, Larson, who had a radio, made contact with the sheriff’s department. It was 8:12 p.m., and through the crackle Larson managed to report that he was on his way out with the group. The sheriff’s department passed word to Frank Donato Sr., father of camper Frank Jr., and the local newspaper. The next morning, Tuesday, the Ventura County Star-Free Press carried the headline MISSING HIKERS SAFE.

“They were far from safe, though. Four hours and multiple crossings later, the road juked into the Sespe Creek one more time. It started like every other crossing. Eckersley and Larson swung up behind Sears, who was driving, and Samples, who’d sprained his ankle. One of the boys was next to Eckersley, another was squeezed between Sears and Samples, and Samples had young Eddie Salisbury, a quiet boy with blond hair and blue eyes, on his lap. The three remaining boys found places near Eckersley, and Greenhill was up front with his light holding on to the exhaust stack. Angling slightly upstream, the big dozer rumbled into the creek. The water rose quickly to the tops of the treads, and everyone numbly waited for the machine to start its climb to the opposite bank. But instead of getting shallower, the water suddenly got deeper, and the big blade up front started deflecting water up onto the engine hood.

“For the first time, Eckersley felt a stab of panic. If the bulldozer didn’t hit the other bank quickly, it would likely stall. He had barely formed the thought when the growling engine quit and a new noise rose. It was the freight-train roar of the flooding Sespe.

“Jan and Debra Cassol have moved a long way from Southern California in the 39 years since the Sespe tragedy, and their neighborhood in Trafford, Pennsylvania, is high above any flood zones. Debra Cassol is a careworn woman with brown hair and a kind face. Her mother, Jan, is petite, with close-cropped red hair and sharp features. We sit down at their dining table, and Debra and Jan start to tell me about the boys. Ronny, at 12, was the clown, a natural-born mimic who used to distract Jan with his wicked imitation of her attempts to discipline the kids. Bobby, 14, was the thoughtful one, outgoing, charming, and into everything from skateboarding and track to camping and fishing. He was always looking out for Jan, Ronny, and Debra, even though she was four years older. Mostly, he and Ronny stuck close together, partners in crime, and they loved the outdoors. A camping trip with Bob Samples — a close family friend whose sister was Jan’s work supervisor at a local hospital — was nothing out of the ordinary.

“The last time Debra and Jan saw the boys was Friday afternoon, January 17, 1969. Both boys had been given new .22 rifles for Christmas, and they were thrilled at the prospect of a weekend of camping and target-shooting. Samples had checked with the weather service and had been told that a beautiful few days lay ahead. The boys threw all their gear into the trunk of Jan’s Lincoln Continental and piled into the backseat for the ride to the Samples house, just a few minutes away. Debra jumped into the front passenger seat. When they arrived, the boys hopped out and rooted around in the trunk for their gear. Loaded up, they paused to say goodbye. As they did, Debra felt a sudden sickness radiating through her chest. “I knew they weren’t coming back,” she says, her voice cracking. “I couldn’t tell you a flood was going to happen. All I knew was that I was never going to see them again.”

“Meanwhile, Pat Larson was used to her husband disappearing into the Los Padres National Forest. He was responsible for a large patch of rugged wilderness, and when it rained there were always people needing help. She remembers the rain well, falling heavily through that January weekend and into Monday. But it was rare that Chet (as she called him) was away this long without getting in touch. The two-way radio — which the sheriff’s department down in Ventura used to contact her husband — crackled in the background.

“Some radio chatter caught her attention. Two deputies were talking about an accident. She heard them say there was a survivor. They didn’t mention any names or where the accident had taken place, but Pat somehow knew this was a conversation about her life. She wandered into her bedroom and got down on her knees to pray. She and her husband were devout Baptists, regulars at the Community Baptist Church of Frazier Park. She opened her Bible to a random page and started to read. It was Isaiah 9:2. Her eyes scanned the words:

The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light; they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined…

“And somehow she knew her husband wasn’t coming home. The words made perfect sense to her. “He was calling them to the light,” Pat says now. “I read that and accepted the fact that he was gone before I even heard about it.”

“Can you start it again?” someone shouts at Chief Sears. “No,” he says in despair. The full pressure of the icy, rising water is now ripping at everyone on the bulldozer. Greenhill’s light disappears as he wraps himself around the exhaust stack. Darkness falls over the group, except for the focused cone of light from Larson’s headlamp. The boys are mostly silent. Every ounce of strength and willpower is needed to resist the deadly pull of the water.

“Chief Sears is the first to let go. He is a small man, weakened by his injuries in Vietnam, and he is spent. “I can’t hold on, I can’t hold on,” he screams. Then, “I’m going, I’m going,” as he’s washed off the back of the bulldozer. Larson turns his headlamp toward him. Everyone watches helplessly as Sears swirls in circles, trapped by an eddy created by the bulldozer. Then Sespe Creek swallows him. He is gone.

“The water is rising quickly around the bulldozer. One of the boys asks if they are going to die. No one responds. In the midst of all the chaos, a child’s voice suddenly calls out. One of the boys has made his way next to Sears’s seat, in front of Eckersley. He has an arm around another boy, and he is calm. He wants to convey something important to the group. “I love you dearly,” he announces.

“The words stun Eckersley. He can’t believe that a young boy, facing death, has the maturity and courage to voice such a simple and profound message. The words shock Larson, too, and he turns to see who spoke. His headlamp falls on the boy’s face, spotlighting it in the dark. Two wide eyes stare steadily back.

“One by one the boys are swept away into the raging current. Every time Larson’s headlamp sweeps over the group, like a lighthouse beacon, another child seems to be missing. Samples is devastated. “We were safe in that cabin,” he says, almost to himself. Soon after, a big bush smashes against him. He lets out a cry as he and the boy he’s holding are ripped away.

“Over the course of half an hour, the river methodically takes everyone except Larson and Eckersley. They are now two strangers facing death together. Eckersley desperately keeps looking for a way to cheat fate. He has looped his backpack strap over a hard point to help anchor himself, and he starts to strip off his coat, wristwatch, and shoes. Anything to help him survive the imminent swim. Larson does the same. Eckersley says he is going to pick his moment and jump, but he doesn’t. He doesn’t have the willpower.

“Larson pulls his gun from its holster and fires two or three shots into the air, aiming upstream as if trying to wound the murderous river rushing at them. He says to Eckersley that there may be some rescuers within earshot. It’s a futile gesture, and Eckersley briefly contemplates borrowing the gun to save himself the agony of drowning.

“As the water rises to chin level, Eckersley, with the dispassion of a man who has started to surrender to fate, asks Larson whether he has ever thought about death. Larson simply replies, “The Lord has it all planned.” Then he loses his grip and is washed into Eckersley. They are locked in a desperate embrace. Seconds later, there’s a sudden snap as the backpack strap breaks. Together, Eckersley and Larson are hurled into the cataract. Sespe Creek has claimed its last two victims.

“The speed and power of the Sespe in full flood overwhelms Eckersley. His mouth fills with water and he gags. The river sucks him down once, then twice. He can’t believe how fast he’s moving. He’s pulled down a third time. His lower back slams into a boulder, causing an explosion of pain so intense that he blacks out.

“The next sensation is strange. Eckersley is lying on his back in the shallows, and the water lapping at him feels hot. He figures that can mean only one thing. Death isn’t so bad, he thinks. It’s nice and warm. It doesn’t last, though. In an instant the water is icy cold again, and Eckersley feels the throbbing pain in his lower back. His clothes are torn and he’s shivering on a muddy riverbank. He’s alive.

“Stunned, he stands up and sees that he’s still on the north side of the river, perhaps 100 yards downstream from the bulldozer. He starts crawling up the muddy hillside in front of him, crossing the road they just traveled. The slope is bare of brush or shelter. Desperate to escape the frigid wind, he starts digging, clawing at the wet earth with his stiff hands, tearing his fingernails. He makes a hole and wedges himself in like an animal, pulling mud and rocks over himself.

“Lightning rips through the sky all around him. Sleet mixes with the rain. There is a piercing and unrelenting pain in his heart. It is so bad Eckersley starts to pray for a lightning strike to end his suffering. The night grinds slowly on. He never sleeps; he just endures. In the morning, he crawls free of his burrow, hypothermic and disoriented. He stiffly descends to the road and starts a shuffling run, away from the crossing. The road is covered with shale and sharp rocks. His feet are bare and start to bleed. But the warmth that comes from physical movement drives him on.

“Eckersley remembers they passed some school vans left in one of the campground areas about three miles before the fatal crossing. Once or twice the sun breaks through the cloud and casts its yellow rays on the proud, red peaks above him. It’s a sight of such beauty that Eckersley is compelled to stop for a moment and wonder again whether he might be dead. When he reaches the vans, he’s exhausted, his feet are shredded, and his heart feels as if it’s about to explode. The vans are unlocked. He opens one. It’s full of spare clothing, food, and blankets. There is even a medical kit.

“Eckersley still can’t quite believe he will live. He needs to create a record so the world will know what took place on Sespe Creek that night. He roots around until he finds a pen and a Marlboro cigarette carton. He unfolds the carton and starts writing on the inside. It reads like a last will and testament. “Today is Tuesday or Wednesday,” it starts. “My name is John Scott Eckersley. I am the sole survivor, I believe, of an accident that happened last night during a rescue operation in the Sespe Creek area of the Los Padres National Forest.”

“Late that afternoon Eckersley hears the thwap-thwap of helicopter blades. He sticks his head out of the van and waves wildly until the helicopter, flying low under the boiling cloud cover, banks toward him and lands. It carries a television news team, there to film the devastation and to look for the overdue boys. The crew carries him aboard while the cameraman films. They take off and fly upstream, toward safety.

“Eckersley slumps by a window, staring blankly at the Sespe below. Suddenly the bulldozer appears. There’s a body hanging off of it, exposed by the receding floodwater. A loud cry of pain and sorrow explodes from Eckersley. The crew members look at him sharply. They had assumed Eckersley was just another stranded camper. “Were you in that party?” one asks. “Yes,” Eckersley answers. He starts sobbing, tears streaming down his cheeks.

“The first inkling in the Cassol home that something might be wrong did not come until Sunday evening, when the boys hadn’t returned. It had been raining for a day and a half, but Jan Cassol didn’t think much of it. She called around, hoping for information. No one knew anything. There was nothing to do but wait.

“On Monday night, following Larson’s radio report from Coltrell Flat, word was passed to the families that the boys had been found. It was a huge relief, and Jan went to Ronny and Bobby’s room to lay out their pajamas. But by Tuesday morning there was nothing more. Jan called the boys’ father, Pete (they were separated), and they drove up to Rose Valley together. Lion Camp was in chaos. Men from the sheriff’s department and the Forest Service milled about. Frank Donato’s parents were there, too. But there was no new information. Go home and wait for news, the authorities said. Deflated, Jan and Pete headed back to their car. Before they got in, Jan stood on a bluff over the raging torrent of the Sespe. She had never seen water look so powerful or move that fast.

“Back at home, Jan tried to control her fear. They’ll have such stories to tell, she thought. Later than night, she switched on the 11 o’clock news. George Putnam, a local broadcaster, was reporting on the floods. An image of a man on a stretcher filled the screen. It was Eckersley, on his way to the hospital. “One by one we all slipped away,” he said to the camera. Then Putnam read the names. That was how Jan learned that her two sons had died in Sespe Creek. Even after all this time, the memory charges her body with grief and anger.

“The next day, the authorities finally called to say they had found a body. It was Bobby. Jan wanted to see him one last time. “I don’t think you should,” the coroner said. “It wouldn’t do you any good, and they lose all the color in their eyes when they drown.” So that was it. Bobby was gone. “Bobby was one of the first to go,” Jan says. “And that means my Ronny had to watch his brother die.” Ronny was never found. His jacket was picked out of a tree, 14 feet up. In fact, the flood was so fierce and the area so wild, only six of the ten bodies were ever brought home. (The last, Eddie Salisbury, was discovered almost two months later, more than 50 miles downstream.) This is perhaps the cruelest legacy a tragedy in the wild can bestow upon a family; lack of finality is an insidious and unrelenting form of torture. “What if Ronny was alive? What if Ronny was lying there hurt?” Jan says, her voice breaking. “I’ll never feel closure because of that.”

“Scott Eckersley’s trim little house is tucked into a hillside outside Ojai, high above a valley carpeted with fruit groves. An arbor shades the front door, which swings open to frame a slim, smiling man. Now 67, he has snowy-white hair and ruddy cheeks. There’s a friendly glint in his eye. For the past 15 years he has suffered from fibromyalgia, a wasting disease that has mostly imprisoned him in the simple comfort of the house he built with his own hands. A year after the Sespe tragedy, Eckersley met a beautiful 17-year-old local girl named Jenny. She is standing beside him now. They have one adult daughter.

“Eckersley looks exhausted, but he wants to talk. As the lone survivor of the tragedy, he feels he has an obligation to speak. In the years following the accident, he returned to the spot dozens of times. He would sit on a big rock in the middle of Sespe Creek and meditate, trying to figure out why he alone had lived. “How could anybody get out of that stream? How did I get from the middle of the river in that kind of current?” he says. “It’s not possible, it’s not possible.”

“Immediately after the tragedy — weak and still feeling pain in his chest — Eckersley submitted to two lengthy interrogations. Everyone — the Ventura County Sheriff’s Department, the Seabees, the Forest Service — wanted to know what had gone wrong. Why had they left the cabin? Why had they kept crossing rapidly deepening floodwaters? Who had made the decisions? But no one, it seemed to Eckersley, wanted to assume any responsibility.

“It was more important to Eckersley that the families hear the real story, and he met with them one night in Canoga Park shortly after the accident. He wanted to tell the mothers and fathers how their children had died and that they had died bravely. “People were falling over fainting and crying,” Eckersley recalls. “Now that I’ve had a daughter and raised her up and know what it would mean to lose her, it just gives me the shivers what those people went through.”

“Eckersley also told them of that transcendent moment when one of the boys rose above the fear to express his message of love. Jan Cassol, Bobby and Ronny’s mother, felt her heart crack. Eckersley didn’t know the name of the boy, but she did. Every night, for as long as she could remember, her son Bobby would kiss her as he went to bed and say, “I love you dearly.” Now she knew those words were the last he ever spoke.

“I realized this boy was an enlightened human being,” Eckersley says. Back at Live Oak School, he tried to teach the children to appreciate the gift of life. One night he would talk them into doing yoga in the dark. Another, he would insist they all get up to watch the sunrise. And he retold the story of Bobby Cassol’s words of love countless times. “I was determined to wake up everybody,” he says.

“Bobby Cassol’s memory haunts Eckersley to this day. He came to believe that at some point on that doomed bulldozer Bobby ended up in his grasp and that he let him go. It is a sequence that he never mentioned in the weeks after the tragedy. But now, stretched out on his sofa in the late afternoon, he tells me a story he says he was never able to tell anyone until recently.

“He stares blankly at the ceiling, and his voice drops to a near whisper. He’s back on the bulldozer, in the middle of the roaring flood. Everyone is fighting to hold on, and he hears a familiar voice yell, “Scott! Grab my hand!” Eckersley is already holding another boy, but he stretches and grabs Bobby’s wrist. The current tears at them. Eckersley feels as if his arm is about to be ripped off. His grip loosens, just for an instant, and that is the only weakness the river needs. Bobby is swept away. The other boy is soon carried away as well. “If I’d only been stronger,” Eckersley says. “If I only could have just pulled him up in front of me.”

“Early in 2006, he received a phone call. Debra Cassol wanted to talk. She and Eckersley started to correspond. For the first time, he talked about his guilt. Debra also started to open up. She told Eckersley about the guilt she felt, too, over not speaking up about her premonition that the boys wouldn’t be coming back. It was comforting to talk with someone who really understood.

“Even now, family members of the boys who died in the Sespe tragedy can’t let go of the most difficult question: Why were the boys taken out into the storm? “If only they had left them alone in the cabin,” Jan Cassol says. “They killed my kids. I believe it to this very day: They killed my kids.” She slams her fist on the table. “It eats at you,” she says, her eyes flashing. Debra knows a terrible, monstrous mistake was made. But she wants to let the anguish go, to forgive, and she can’t quite bring herself to heap all her anger on Larson, Sears, and Greenhill, the would-be rescuers, for what happened. “They died as well,” she points out.

“The days following the tragedy were a blur of confusion for Pat Larson. She moved with sons Steve and Mark to her parents’ house, back in Taft, the dead-end town Chet had escaped. “I was scared to death,” Pat says. She had to tell her two young sons that their father wasn’t coming home. A few days after the accident, Chet’s parents told her his body had been recovered. They wanted her to help identify him. She refused. “I can’t go. I’m not supposed to. It’s not him,” she told her angry and grieving in-laws. They took Chet’s younger brother, Max, instead. Max walked into the morgue and saw the left hand of the corpse sticking out from under a sheet. There was no sign of a wedding ring. Pat had been right: It wasn’t Chet. It turned out to be Robert Samples. The body had been so battered beyond recognition it was hard to identify. “Of course, they never found his body, but I knew they weren’t going to,” Pat says.

“Pat was relieved that Chet had disappeared, as if he had been transported straight to heaven. And she drew at least some peace from the knowledge that he had died doing something that made him happy, and not in the oil fields. “He loved being a sheriff,” she says. “He was a Christian, and he was ready to go.”

“In a way, the Larsons were lucky. Chet was a husband and father, but his family didn’t see him as a victim, and he was a man who had made his own choices. For the Donatos, Rauhs, Cassols, and Salisburys (who also lost two boys, Danny, 13, and Eddie, 11), there would always be anguish and unanswered questions.

“Before I left California, I managed to track down Pat Salisbury. He had been 17 and one of seven children when his younger brothers died. Today he is a burly 56-year-old contractor who still lives in the area with his wife and three children. His parents are both dead, buried next to Danny and Eddie. But Pat, who still has a very hard time talking about the accident, explains how it blew his tight-knit family apart. “We all just kind of went, This can happen at any minute,” Salisbury says. “It was devastating, absolutely devastating.”

“Pat struggled for years with rage and alcoholism. It was only after a counselor in 2003 stumbled on the fact that his two younger brothers had been tragically killed decades earlier that he was given the belated grief counseling he needed. “People are afraid of death, but death is a part of life,” he says now. “Enjoy every day you are alive, because you never know when you will end up on a bulldozer. You just don’t know.”

“Steve Larson found a kind of balance, too. Growing up, he never liked cops, and he wondered all his life whether he would have liked his father and whether his father had been a hero or responsible for the deaths of six young boys. Retracing Chester Larson’s tragic march to the final crossing has helped him see his father through the shroud of death. He knows now that Chet was a decent man who made a terrible yet honest mistake. He knows now that his father, and Greenhill and Sears, were preoccupied with completing their mission and that what none of them realized was that they were in the midst of the heaviest rains ever to fall in the area. In four days, more than 16 inches of rain poured down the hillsides into the Sespe Creek bed. Dulled by cold and exhaustion, they simply failed to comprehend the brutal, unholy potential of the flash flood that would result.

“Later Steve writes me: “Life is a series of calculated risks. I no longer accept that his death was ‘meant to be.’ Maybe I will have a better understanding of the greater purpose of his death someday. For now, I have a wife and two children who need me (as he did), and I am going to put them first and make sure I make it home at the end of the day.” (Zimmermann, Tim. “Hell in High Water.” Outsideonline.com, 1-25-2008.)

Jan 25: “Associated Press. Rock and mud slides, loosed by driving rain, wreaked havoc today among plush homes in scenic hills ringing Los Angeles and there was widespread flooding and damage elsewhere in California. A storm that dumped more than four inches of rain on Los Angeles in two days—on the heels of an earlier four-day downpour—sent walls of water and rivers of rock-studded mud flowing down canyons.

“In the exclusive Los Angeles suburb of Brentwood, an investment company chairman was buried and killed by an avalanche of soggy earth that ripped into his bedroom after a retaining wall broke.

“In Glendora, 20 miles east of Los Angeles, a tract of homes severely damaged by mud earlier in the week was hit by a wall of water that swept down a drainage channel, rolling huge boulders like pebbles. One house was crushed and 12 damaged. The flood came after 100 firemen had spent the night placing 6,000 sandbags to try to protect the area. But a logjam of debris in a canyon—in hills denuded by a brush fire last year —suddenly broke and loosed the water….”
(Daily Review, Hayward, CA. “Mudslide Buries L.A. Man.” 1-25-1969, 1.)

Jan 25: “Figure 15. Scar above site of residence destroyed by debris flow indicates origin by soil slip. Highland Park, two fatalities at about 9:00 a.m. January 25, 1969.” (Hamilton, Douglas. “Hazards on Alluvial Fans and Their Mitigation.” 2-5-2008, slide 6.)

Jan 25: “The death toll in the latest storm to hit the Southland yesterday stood at 10 in the Valley area as all parts of the Los Angeles area were hit by mudslides, The storm, second to strike in the past week, had dumped four to six inches of rain in the Valley by late yesterday and closed numerous streets and freeways. Heaviest rain in the new storm was Friday night.

“Three Southland areas appeared to be the hardest hit — tie city of Glendora, Mulholland Drive, and the Newhall-Saugus area.

“Two of the deaths were attributed to traffic.

“The dead in the Valley area included three persons in Topanga Canyon, a Sherman Oaks and an Encino resident two persons in Glendale and the traffic fatality….

Three persons — a woman and two children—were killed when a wall of mud swept through their home at 539 Creek Trail, in Topanga Canyon. Victims were identified as Mrs. Gale Gordon, Matthew, a 3-year-old son, and a 5-year-old daughter who was missing and presumed drowned. The girl’s first name was not available.

“In another Topanga Canyon tragedy, Donald Douris, 49, died at his home at 847 Old Topanga Canyon Road, when a landslide hit his home and pinned him against a door jamb and a refrigerator. Sheriff’s Deputies reported they had to saw the door to free the victim who they said was apparently suffocated and crushed to death.

“In the Santa Monica Mountains, three other persons were killed when mud poured into their homes. Two of the deaths occurred in the same fashion, a Fire Dept. spokesman said, although in different areas. Robert Adler, 55 of 15421 Deerhorn Road, Encino, and Concetta Milano, 41, of 3837 Shearview Drive, Sherman Oaks, both were killed when mud poured through sliding glass doors, and trapped them in their beds….

“In Glendale two persons were killed when they were buried by mud which inundated their home at 3048 Buckingham Road. They were not immediately identified.

Two Children Die

“And in the Highland Park area, two young boys were missing after their home slid down a 150-foot cliff on El Paso Drive. The children were identified as 2-year-old Joe Gonzales, and his brother Steven, 10 months. The mud swept into the family home at 1279 El Paso Road shortly before 9 a.m. The children’s’ mother, Rose, was listed in critical condition at Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center….

“The chairman of the board of a Beverly Hills mutual fund suffocated and six firemen were injured attempting to rescue him when a mudslide collapsed a portion of his Brentwood Heights home. The slide caved in the south wall of a two-story home at 2077 Mandeville Canyon Road, trapping 41-year-old Michael Riordan in his bedroom shortly after midnight yesterday. City Firemen responded to the scene under Batt. Comdr. Paul Augustine. Six of his men had nearly freed Riordan when another slide slammed into the house, injuring all the firemen and burying the victim, who had been trapped in mud up to his waist. Other fire fighters quickly dug all seven men out but Riordan was dead. Riordan’s wife and three children were in another part of the home and were not injured….” (Van Nuys News, CA. “Storm Kills Ten in Valley Area.” 1-26-1969, 1.)

Jan 25: “…Glendale, Chevy Chase Canyon area, 6:30 a.m., January 25, 1969: Two persons were killed at 3048 Buckingham Road when walls of bedroom were crushed by a ‘mudslide.’ A soil-slip origin is inferred from the apparent single-pulse episode as described in Glendale News-Press report dated January 25 (See Sunday Mercury-News, San Jose, California, for photograph of rescue operations at site, credited as Associated Press Wirephoto)….

“…Highland Park, 9:00 a.m., January 25, 1969: Two children were killed when their home at 1279 El Paso Drive was crushed by a debris flow at about 9:00 a.m., January 25, 1969….

“…Sherman Oaks, 6:00 a.m., January 25, 1969: One persons was killed by a debris flow that crashed into the back bedroom of a residence at 15421 Deerhorn at 6:00 a.m., January 25….A soil-slip origin is indicated by the scar….

“…Sherman Oaks, 6:50 a.m., January 25, 1969: One persons was killed by a debris flow that broke through bedroom wall of a residence at 3830 Sherview at 6:50 a.m., January 25… A soil-slip origin is indicated by the scar….

“…Brentwood, Mandeville Canyon area, 12:30 a.m., January 25, 1969: A debris flow (‘mudslide’) crashed into back of a house killing one man in bed at 2077 Mandeville Canyon Road. About 45 minutes later, six firemen attempting to rescue him were temporarily trapped in the house by a second slide….

“…Topanga area, about 3:00 a.m., January 25, 1969: Three people were killed and one seriously injured when a debris flow crushed the rear of a house about 0.15 mile north of the Greenleaf Canyon bridge. Part of the house was pushed into the floodwaters of Topanga Creek, normally about 15 feet below, and carried down-stream. Scars establish the soil-slip origin. The time of the event is tentatively established by neighbors who were awakened by less damaging slides on their own property: they heard a nose that they believe to have marked the destructive slide nearby at about 3:00 a.m. …

“…Old Topanga Canyon area, between 1:00 a.m. and 9:00 a.m., January 25, 1969: One man was killed by debris flow at 874 Old Topanga Canyon Road. The impact of the debris broke a hole in the back wall of the house through which the flow entered at high velocity. The soil-slip origin was indicated by slide scars… The time was established from accounts of neighbors….

“…Thousand Oaks, 7:45 a.m., January 25, 1969. One person was killed by debris flow which crashed into the back bedroom of the residence at 818 Combes Road. The soil-slip origin is documented by scars….” (USGS. Geological… Research 1973. 39-40.)

Jan 27 report: “Los Angeles (UPI) – More than 9,000 persons sought shelter Sunday from mudslides and floods which devastated Southern California, causing more than $30 million damage and killing 87. President Nixon declared the entire stale a major disaster area after nine days of steady rainfall in two back-to-back tropical storms left the southern half of the state sodden.

“Twelve persons were buried alive in oozing mud that slithered down from the hills and filled their homes. Fifty-two died on slippery highways, and four in weather-related plane crashes. Seventeen drowned and two died of heart attacks, one while sandbagging his home and the other after being helicoptered from his flooded house….

“A woman riding on the roof of her house down the Ventura River died after the structure collapsed and she was tossed into the surging water. Six other members of her family were able to grab onto trees….

“At least 14 dead were reported in Ventura County.

“Riverside County reported about 600 elderly persons from the desert north of Palm Springs. The old-timers were reported taking the situation calmly. One drowning of a boy was reported.

“In San Bernardino County, several drowning deaths were reported….” (The Argus, Fremont, CA. “87 Killed as Flood Waters Batter Southern California.” 1-27-1969, 1-2)

Jan 29 UPI report: “Los Angeles (UPI)….giant storms…left 95 dead….The bodies of two more persons were uncovered Wednesday [Jan 29] in their muck filled homes, bringing to 14 the number of dead buried by mudslides during the earlier storms. Three other persons were still missing.” (The Argus, Fremont, CA. “More Flood Fears to South State.” 1-29-1969, 2.)

Jan 30, AP: “Associated Press. Virtually half of California was listed as disaster area today with new snow and rain coldly washing away hopes for a speedy recovery from the recent devastating storms. On Wednesday, Gov. Reagan declared 11 more counties disaster areas, bringing the count of 25….The death toll from last week’s mud-and-flood storms reached 95, most of them traffic fatalities. More than seven other persons remained missing and presumed dead or unaccounted for today….Newly recorded storm-related deaths included 25-year-old Lynn Moore of Los Angeles, whose body was found by Malibu sheriff’s almost two miles from her mud-filled car in Topanga Creek.

“Harry Burt Trimble, 20, was killed and Sherry Williams, 20, of Victorville, was injured when a rain-weakened cave collapsed on them in San Diego.

“Authorities said they were employing a 100-foot crane today as they resumed the Topanga Canyon search for Mrs. Gale Gordon and her two children. The hunt for the three apparent victims was halted Wednesday by the fear of new mud slides.” (Oakland Tribune, CA. “Disaster Status for Half Calif.” 1-30-1969, A2.)

Jan 31-Feb 1, Van Nuys Valley News: “….Three more bodies were recovered and identified yesterday [Feb 1] as sheriff’s deputies continued the search for another youngster still missing following the storm. The coroner’s office identified the bodies of a woman and a child found in Topanga Canyon as those of two of three persons missing since their home was crushed by a mudslide last week. Mrs. Gayle Gordon, 32, was found beneath a boulder in a creek bed behind 3221 Topanga Canyon Blvd. Her daughter, Heather, 6, was discovered buried in the debris at the Gordon home, 539 N. Creek Drive. Another child thought to be in the home when it was crushed is still missing. The home was hit by the slide during the second of the series of storms which left 40 dead in the Los Angeles area and caused heavy mud and water damage throughout the Southland.

“Topanga Canyon, lying between the Valley and the Pacific, was one of the heaviest hit communities in the area. More than 27 inches of rain fell in that area….” (Valley News, Van Nuys, CA. “Front Passes: Fair, Warmer Day Forecast.” 2-2-1969, 1 & 6.)

Feb 1, Long Beach Independent Press Telegram: “The body of a 3-year-old Topanga Canyon boy was reclaimed from mud and debris near his home Saturday [Feb 1] ending the search for storm victims in the flood-wracked mountains between San Fernando Valley and the sea. The mother and sister of the dead boy, Matthew Gordon, were found Friday [Jan 31]. Mrs. Gayle Gordon, 32, was found beneath a boulder three miles from her home and six-year-old Heather Gordon was found closer to the home. The deaths occurred during last week’s storm which damaged several Topanga Canyon homes and isolated hundreds more.” (Independent Press Telegram, Long Beach, CA. “Tot’s Body Reclaimed from Mud.” 2-2-1969, p. 3.)

LA Times: “January, 1969: More than 14 inches of rain over 10 days wreak havoc on Southern California, hitting Los Angeles County especially hard: 13 people die in mudslides in Topanga Canyon, Sherman Oaks, Highland Park, Glendale, Brentwood, Thousand Oaks and San Dimas. Los Angeles city and county suffer nearly $35 million in damage. Due to mudslide danger, hundreds of people are evacuated from Mandeville and Big Tujunga canyons, the Linda Vista area west of the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, and Glendora.” (Los Angeles Times. “Los Angeles County Mudslides.” 2-25-1993.)

Davis: “United States. California. January 18-26, 1969. Ninety-five persons died and over $138 million in damage was caused in southern California by a series of mudslides, brought about by nine days of torrential rain, and a subtropical storm…” (Davis, Lee. Natural Disasters: From the Black Plague to the Eruption of Mt. Pinatubo. “Avalanches and Landslides.” 1992, 13.)

History.com, Jan 18-26: “On this day in 1969, a spate of heavy rain begins in Southern California that results in a tragic series of landslides and floods that kills nearly 100 people. This was the worst weather-related disaster in California in the 20th century.

“Although January typically features relatively high precipitation in Southern California, the first month of 1969 saw an extraordinary amount of rain throughout the region. Mt. Baldy, east of Los Angeles, received more than 50 inches in the nine-day period beginning January 18. By January 26, the Federal Emergency Management Association (FEMA) had declared it a federal disaster area.

“The worst part of the remarkable rainfall was that it caused a series of landslides in the hills of Southern California. In Glendora, 1 million cubic meters of rock and mud slid down a hillside, destroying 200 homes and killing dozens of people. Although there was only one fatality, the plight of Mandeville Canyon, north of Sunset Boulevard in L.A.’s Brentwood section, during the disaster was heavily publicized due to the wealth and fame of its residents.

“Mandeville Canyon Road became a flowing river and was impassable for a week. Waves of water three feet high ran through homes, sweeping residents’ possessions, including furniture and pianos, away. Film director Robert Altman was trapped in his home for more than a day. Many others had to be evacuated. Michael Riordan, the brother of future Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan, was the only person to die in the area. He was killed in his bedroom, as firefighters tried to rescue him. Eventually, the National Guard was brought in assist in the relief efforts.

“Overall, 91 people died in the flooding and mudslides. It was the worst storm to hit Southern California since 1938. In February, yet another big storm hit killed 18 people over several days. From 1980 to 2005, approximately 100 people died from floods and landslides in Southern California.” (History.com. This Day in History, Disaster, Jan 18, 1969. “Heavy Rain Leads to Landslides in Southern California)

NOAA: “Heavy rains of tropical origin hit in two waves, one beginning 1.18 and the other 1.23. The totals: as much as 50” of rain at 7,700’ elev., 37.5” at Lake Arrowhead, 31” of rain on south slopes of Mt. San Gorgonio, 15.5” at San Jacinto Peak, 13.4” in LA, ~10” at Banning, less than 1” from Indio southeast. 11.72” at Forest Falls on 1.25.

“87 reported dead from flooding and mud slides all over California. Scores dead in traffic accidents. Hundreds of homes and buildings destroyed in slides, including 14 destroyed and 11 damaged homes in Mt. Baldy Village. 50 homes near Forest Home (Forest Falls) were damaged by flooding. Highways and railroads washed out. Power outages. Cucamonga Creek itself caused $10 million in damage. The Mojave River took out numerous bridges and flooded farmlands in the upper desert.” (NOAA, A History of Significant Weather Events in Southern California.., Jan 2007, p. 14.)

Paulson: “Flood Jan.-Feb. 1969 Southern and central coastal California, parts of Mojave desert….Deaths, 60; damage, $400 million.”

“During January 18-27, 1969, a series of storms, drawing on a strong flow of warm, moist air from the southwest, moved across central and southern California. Massive quantities of precipitation fell on the coastal mountains from Monterey Bay to Los Angeles and in the southern Sierra Nevada. Precipitation for January 18-27 ranged from 10 to 15 inches in the lowlands in southern California and reached a maximum of 50.0 inches at a mountain community (altitude 7,700 feet) near San Bernardino. The peak discharge near the mouth of the Santa Clara River was 38 percent greater than the previous record discharge in March 1938. On the Santa Ynez River near Lompoc, the peak discharge was 78 percent greater than that during the floods of March 1938.

“In late February 1969, a series of northwestern cold-front storms moved south along a low-pressure trough that had formed over the California coast. Precipitation for February 22-25 ranged from 5 to 15 inches in lowland areas of southern California; Lake Arrowhead (altitude 5,200 feet) recorded 23.9 inches. Almost the same areas were flooded in February as in January. Peak discharges in southern California were slightly less than in January, but the Salinas River at Spreckels on February 26 had a new peak discharge of record that exceeded the March 1938 peak by 11 percent. Sixty lives were lost in the January-February floods, and the estimated property damage was about $400 million (Nelson and Haley, 1970).” (Paulson, et al. “National Water Summary 1988-89 – Hydrologic Events and Floods…”)

Tufty: “In January, 1969, the heaviest rainfalls in 31 years fell over southern California, setting off landslides that killed 88 people, stranded tens of thousands, and caused about 9,000 persons to evacuate their mud-filled, toppled homes. Property damage was estimated to be some $35 million.” (Tufty, Barbara. 1001 Questions Answered about Hurricanes, Tornadoes, and Other Natural Air Disasters. 1987, 250.)

Sources

Cornell, James. The Great International Disaster Book (Third Edition). New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1982.

County of Los Angeles, Chief Executive Office. “Historical Disaster Information — Floods and mudslides.” Accessed 5-10-2012 at: http://www.lacoa.org/historicalinfo.htm

Daily Review, Hayward, CA. “Mudslide Buries L.A. Man.” 1-25-1969, 1. Accessed at: http://newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=50927744

Davis, Lee. Natural Disasters: From the Black Plague to the Eruption of Mt. Pinatubo. New York, NY: Facts of File, Inc., 1992.

Hamilton, Douglas. “Hazards on Alluvial Fans and Their Mitigation.” 2-5-2008. Accessed at: http://aftf.csusb.edu/documents/Hazards%20on%20AFs%20and%20their%20Mitigation.pdf

History.com. This Day in History, Disaster, January 18, 1969. “Heavy Rain Leads to Landslides in Southern California.” Accessed 12/6/2008 at: http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&displayDate=01/18&categoryId=disaster

Independent Press Telegram, Long Beach, CA. “Tot’s Body Reclaimed from Mud.” 2-2-1969, 3. Accessed at: http://newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=50159839

Los Angeles Times (Tracy Thomas). “Los Angeles County Mudslides.” 2-25-1993. Accessed 6-21-2017 at: http://articles.latimes.com/1993-02-25/local/me-806_1_los-angeles-county

Nash, Jay Robert. Darkest Hours – A Narrative Encyclopedia of Worldwide Disasters from Ancient Times to the Present. New York: Pocket Books, Wallaby, 1977, 792 pages.

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. A History of Significant Weather Events in Southern California Organized by Weather Type. NOAA, January 2007, 91 pages. Accessed at: http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/sgx/research/Guide/weatherhistory.pdf

Oakland Tribune, CA. “10 Swept to Death in Creek.” 1-22-1969, p. 1. Accessed at: http://newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=34039310

Oakland Tribune, CA. “Disaster Status for Half Calif.” 1-30-1969, A2. Accessed at: http://newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=46872865

Oakland Tribune, CA. “Storm Pounds on, Death Toll Heavy.” 1-20-1969, p. 1. Accessed at: http://newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=33566292

Paulson, R.W., E.B. Chase, R.S. Roberts, and D.W. Moody (Compilers). “National Water Summary 1988-89 – Hydrologic Events and Floods and Droughts. U.S. Geological Survey Water-Supply Paper 2375; excerpted in Major Floods and Droughts in California (website). 1991. 10-9-2009 at: http://geochange.er.usgs.gov/sw/impacts/hydrology/state_fd/cawater1.html

Press Courier, Oxnard CA. “10 Feared Dead in Sespe.” 1-22-1969, p. 1. Accessed 4-28-2020 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/oxnard-press-courier-jan-22-1969-p-2/

Press-Courier, Oxnard, CA. “Five Bodies Recovered; Rain May Halt Search.” 1-23-1969, 1. Accessed at: http://newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=81857516

Press-Courier, Oxnard, CA. “One by One, Rescuers Swept Away.” 1-23-1969, 1. Accessed at: http://newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=81857516

Press Courier, Oxnard, CA. “Sheriff Dept. Poised for Sespe Quest.” 3-13-1969, p. 11. Accessed at: http://newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=81860299

Press Courier, Oxnard, CA. “The Last Search.” 2-14-1969, 11. Accessed at: http://newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=81858661

Press-Courier, Oxnard, CA. “Tragedy at Sespe Said Needless.” 1-24-1969, 2. Accessed at: http://newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=72087980

Press Courier, Oxnard, CA. “Tragedy Came After 15 Sespe Crossings.” 1-24-1969, 1. Accessed at: http://newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=81857544

Red Bluff Daily News, CA. “Wind-Whipped Snow Sweeping Northwest,” 2-1-1969, 1. Accessed at: http://newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=12322464

Redlands Daily Facts, CA. “10 drown as bulldozer fails to cross creek.” 1-21-1969, p. 25. Accessed at: http://newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=129061350

Redlands Daily Facts, CA. “Mudslide victims digging out.” 1-23-1969, 13. Accessed at: http://newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=129061374

San Mateo Times, CA. “South State Cleaning Up After Storm.” 1-8-1969, 3. Accessed at: http://newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=45710373

The Argus, Fremont, CA. “87 Killed as Flood Waters Batter Southern California.” 1-27-1969, 1. Accessed at: http://newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=52808881

The Argus, Fremont, CA. “More Flood Fears to South State.” 1-29-1969, 2. Accessed at: http://newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=48100456

The Argus, Fremont, CA. “Southern California Storms Leave 87 Dead.” 1-27-1969, 2. Accessed at: http://newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=48100439

Tufty, Barbara. 1001 Questions Answered about Hurricanes, Tornadoes, and Other Natural Air Disasters. Mineola, NY: Dover Publications, Inc., 1987. Partially Google digitized at: http://books.google.com/books?id=pXzLOaTfgXkC&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false

United States Department of Commerce. Climatological Data. 1969. Google digitized at: http://books.google.com/books?id=S_Oq1-ZZQpYC&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false

United States Geological Survey. Geological Survey Research 1973 (USGS Professional Paper 850). Washington: GPO, 1973. Accessed at: http://books.google.com/books?id=UCIsAQAAIAAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q=glendale&f=false

Valley News, Van Nuys, Ca. “Evidence of Storm’s Fury Stands in Stark Hillsides.” 1-28-1969, 1. Accessed at: http://newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=49284233

Valley News, Van Nuys, CA. “Front Passes: Fair, Warmer Day Forecast.” 2-2-1969, 1 & 6. Accessed at: http://newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=50159839

Van Nuys News, CA. “Storm Kills Ten in Valley Area.” 1-26-1969, 1. Accessed at: http://newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=16305519

Zimmermann, Tim. “Hell in High Water.” Outsideonline.com, 1-25-2008. Accessed 5-11-2012 at: http://www.outsideonline.com/adventure-travel/Hell-in-High-Water.html?page=all