"La Purisima mission reduced to rubble in an instant"

[petronius]

I about pooped myself when reading that headline--especially just after reading about a local wildfire--but it's OK, it's a historical piece...

--- Snip ---

By Jan. 1, 1811, Padre Mariano Payèras of Mission La Purisíma Concepción completed an elaborate irrigation system and a new and shorter road to San Luis Obispo by way of Mission Santa Inés in modern-day Solvang.

--- Snip ---

The temblor registered 10 on the Rossi/Forel scale of 10 gradients. The priests, Indians and soldiers rushed outside. This initial temblor was only a foreshock. Fifteen minutes later, a more intense shake caused the mission’s bells to ring. The adobe walls were reduced to rubble.

Despite the horrific destruction, Father Payèras selected a new site for the mission north of the Santa Ynez River, got permission from Franciscan president José Señán and Gov. Arrilaga, and on April 29, 1813, began building a new mission.

--- Snip ---

There hasn’t been a full history of Mission La Purisíma since 1932. Michael Hardwick, once the archivist there, is coming to Mission San Luis Obispo on Saturday, Oct. 17. He will give a lively presentation on his new history of our neighboring mission to the south, La Purisíma Concepción. It will be held at 9:30 a.m. in the Mission Hall. The public is invited.

http://www.sanluisobispo.com/2015/10/10/3848935/la-purisima-mission-reduced-to.html

[Brother Buzz]

1. That 1812 temblor caused a Tsunami of some note:

1812 California Tsunami Carried a Ship Inland
An undersea quake in the Santa Barbara Channel sent a powerful wave smashing into the coast, carrying a ship half a mile inland.

January 09, 2005|Cecilia Rasmussen

Dec. 21, 1812: Capt. Issac Whittemore and the crew of the 283-ton brig Charon had been scouring California's coast for "soft gold": extraordinarily lush otter pelts. Sitting at anchor in Refugio Bay near Gaviota Pass, they planned to do a brisk but illegal business with the pious but practical Franciscan padres: swapping the pelts for cowhides.

About 10:30 a.m., the sea began to rise.

A tsunami related to a 7.2-magnitude earthquake in the Santa Barbara Channel lifted the ship and dumped it half a mile up Refugio Canyon. Then the receding wave yanked the ship back out to sea.

(Records fail to note whether the Charon was damaged or whether any crewmen were hurt. But the ship survived.)

The temblor is believed to have come from a fault under Santa Cruz Island.

<more>

http://articles.latimes.com/2005/jan/09/local/me-then9