A major earthquake struck Oceanside, California today and was strangely limited to one estate which appears to be nearly totally destroyed. Although the data concerning the exact magnitude has yet to be released by the earthquake monitoring center at Cal Tech, it is believed that this may be at least 7.2 on the Richter scale. A nearby resident said “I went through the Northridge quake and this one was far worse!”
The earthquake was accompanied by unseasonable rainfall, making it impossible for rescue crews to shore up the structure. The fire marshall was overheard saying, “This one is a tear down. With an estate this size it will take them a year to rebuild.”
We were fortunate to get photographs of some of the destruction from a local resident, but these pictures are not for the faint of heart. They show massive destruction of what was once a beautiful, grand estate. What a shock and what a waste.
As you can see, in this view taken from above, it appears that the entire game room was destroyed when the roof above it collapsed. Although the roof above the dining room appears to have also collapsed the dining room remains mostly unscathed. Although it is not clear in this photograph, it appears that the quite expensive Tiffany lamp that was hanging above the kitchen table may be damaged or destroyed.
This photograph was taken behind the estate and reveals the horrific damage to the game room and adjacent areas. As of this moment it appears that nobody was home at the time of the trembler. Again, it is difficult to tell, but the Tiffany lamp does not appear to have sustained serious damage from this angle. It remains for the authorities to allow the owners back inside, but that depends on the stability of the remaining structure. From this angle, it appears that the roof and sides of the structure will have to be removed before assessing any damage to the contents of the home.
This photo is taken a bit further back and you can see the awful devastation. The fire captain says that it must have been a combination of the moisture from the storms, the nearly freezing nightly temperatures, and the unstable ground whose confluence led to this disaster.
Miraculously, it appears that the only damage to the vast garden was a toppled trellis at the upper right corner. Miraculously, the scarecrow seems to maintain his vigilant watch over the vegetable garden with a smile as always.
This final photograph, although grainy due to the distance of the aerial cameraman, shows that nothing was spared, not even Santa’s sleigh which appears to have toppled over onto its side. The bag of toys, however, looks intact, so perhaps there will still be some toys left for those children who did not get their Christmas presents. God Bless Tiny Tim (?)
WE ARE SORRY TO HAVE HAD TO BRING YOU THESE PHOTOGRAPHS OF DEVASTATION. IF YOU WISH TO REMEMBER THE ESTATE IN ITS GRANDEUR PRIOR TO THE QUAKE, PLEASE CLICK HERE AND RECALL HOW STATELY THE MANSION ONCE STOOD.
