Oakland Urban Paths: Exploring the Hayward Fault

On Saturday, local historian and author Dennis Evanosky led Oakland Urban Paths on a walk exploring the Hayward Fault, as well as some other interesting bits of geology between the Redwood Heights Recreation Center and the Mormon Temple. We're in the early stages of using a registration system to get a better handle on the size of the walks, so instead of 125 people like we had a couple years ago when Dennis last led this walk for us, we were closed to a much more manageable 60 people (and 2 dogs).

We started at the rec center, then went past the nearby Redwood Heights Elementary School. Unfortunately, after the school was built, a trace of the fault was found to be very close by. To comply with a state law that wasn't yet in effect regarding the minimum distance between fault lines and schools, they tore down the multi-purpose building and removed part of the main building that was too close.

We also looked at a sag pond which is now an EBMUD reservoir, learned about 35th Avenue's role as a way to transport redwoods from the hills down to the harbor, and talked about the Gold Star Streets which were named for locals who died in WWI.

Along Rettig, we walked a peaceful stretch of road beside a stretch of Peralta Creek. It's peaceful because a landslide shut off access to the road, and it was decided to keep it closed after the cleanup.

After some climbing, we came to the site of the London Road Slide. This slow-moving slide in 1970 destroyed a section of London Road, along with 14 houses, but it could have been a lot more spectuclar because of the jet fuel pipeline that used to run through the area.

More climbing took us to the Mormon Temple, where we saw groups from several quinceañeras (a Latina celebration of a girl's 15th birthday) getting their pictures taken, and the beautiful gardens and fountain on the temple grounds.

Thanks to Dennis for leading the walk, and to everyone who came out for it. And thank you for your patience as we figure out the registration system. November's walk will be "Buffers and Boundaries," led by Ruth Miller. See the walk calendar for more information, and hope to see you on the paths!

Links

• Active Traces of the Hayward Fault USGS maps, plus a Google Earth tour of the fault
• Oakland Geology
• The Hayward fault in Redwood Heights
• 39th Avenue fault gauge revisited
• Rettig Canyon
• Oakland Underfoot
• Oakland Wiki

See the pictures individually here.

Oakland Urban Paths: Hayward Fault

Saturday we had a record turnout for an Oakland Urban Paths walk, led by local historian Dennis Evanosky. About 125 people showed up to explore the traces of the Hayward Fault. We were joined by Andrew Alden, who has led geology-based OUP walks before, including an exploration of another part of the Hayward Fault last year.

We started the walk at the Redwood Heights Recreation Center, then headed down to 39th Avenue. One of the few residents in the area in 1868 lived nearby, but the great earthquake of 1868 was felt all over the East Bay and beyond. It was estimated to have been between 6.8 and 7.0 magnitude, and the shaking last 42 seconds. The worst damage was in Hayward, and there were 30 deaths including four in San Francisco.

Along 39th is an EBMUD reservoir, which was originally a "sag pond" formed by a depression along the fault. From there we headed north across 35th Avenue where Dennis told us more about local history. Many of the streets in the area are named for veterans of WWI.

Then it was up to Rettig Avenue along Peralta Creek. Part of Rettig is closed to automobile traffic because the effects of a landslide. A neighbor from the area told us about the slide and subsequent efforts to stabilize the hillside. A little further down the creek we heard from another neighbor about the efforts to clean up the area around the creek and make it into a park.

Up the hill, we came to the Kitchener Court landslide. After heavy rains in 1970, the entire area slid. First it damaged 14 houses, and eventually expanded to 22 houses. An even bigger concern was a fuel line carrying jet fuel from refineries to the Oakland Airport. A similar accident in 1969(?) in Canyon, CA, (just east of Oakland) raised serious concerns about a repeat on a larger scale in Oakland.

Then it was up hill past the Mormon Temple. We'd been there before on the Oakmore Highlands walk back in March, but approached from the other direction.

After a long downhill (and losing a few people to an estate sale in an interesting house), we returned to our starting point. Thanks to Dennis for leading the walk, and to everyone and everywoof who came out for it. And thank you for your patience as we worked out the bumps with the new sound system. Your donations are what made that possible, and help us with the mission of educating people about the urban paths, stairways and walkways around Oakland.

On a related note, did you know that Oakland was ranked the 9th most walkable large city in the U.S.? The hills definitely bring down Oakland's score, but our beloved city is still a pretty darn walkable place. Oakland Urban Paths and Walk Oakland Bike Oakland are working to make it even more walkable and more livable. Thank you for your support in helping make that happen!

Additional Links:

map of our route (PDF)
Google Earth Tour of the Hayward Fault

Lots more pictures from the walk:

random acts of kindness by Oaklanders

Saturday night was the 10th annual Oakland Firefighters Random Acts awards dinner. It's a fundraiser, but it's also a chance to celebrate and honor some of the people who make Oakland better.

Random Acts was started by Oakland firefighters, to give back to Oakland and help with some of the things they see day in and day out while on duty, but also to give them a chance for positive experiences. They see lots of bad: accidents, fires, victims of violence. Years of that takes its toll, so engaging in Random Acts can help the process of healing by letting them experience some good.

Coach Brooks and
McClymonds players

Many of the random acts of kindness are done with individuals and other organizations in Oakland, and several of those were honored Saturday night. First was McClymonds High basketball coach Brandon "Boozy" Brooks. Not only has he led the Warriors to multiple state championship games, he's made a positive impact on his players outside of school, too. They're regularly involved in community service events, and the players say the coach is like a father to them. They may not all end up in the NBA like McClymonds' alums Bill Russell, Antonio Davis, Joe Ellis, Paul Silas, and Nate Williams, but they'll be better people for it. Coach Brooks was given the Citizen Hero award.

Mikey

Another Mack alum who's doing good is Shaheda Wright, along with her son Mikey Callahan. A few years ago, Mikey was a normal kid. Then he got sicker and sicker, and required a liver transplant to save his life. Afterwards, his mom asked him how he wanted to 'pay it forward', and he replied "feed the homeless". That first Christmas they were handing people food out of the trunk of Shaheda's car; now they're a 501(c)(3) serving food to the hungry on a regular basis. Check out the TV clips on the media page of the Mikey's Meals website. Shaheda and Mikey were given the first-ever Mom & Pop Green Community Service award.

save a life

On hand to present the award was Mom & Pop's Daughter, Sharon Green-Holder. And on hand to thank Mikey and Shaheda were the parents of the young man who died, whose liver was used to save Mikey's life. How terrible to lose a child, but how great to know they helped save other lives after death. And even better to know it saved a remarkable kid like Mikey. You can save lives, too -- be sure you're registered as an organ donor with DonateLifeCalifornia.org. It turned out the young man was a Raider's fan -- he had a Raider's tattoo that his parents didn't know about. In a nice gesture, an Oakland Raiders rep heard about the connection, and had Raider great Jim Otto sign a picture to the parents.

Pilar

The final award, the Act of Kindness award, went to the youngest OFRA award recipient ever. One of Mom Green's sayings was "it's never too late to do good." For Pilar Ortega, it's apparently never too early to start. At age 4 she was breaking open her piggy bank to send money for Peru earthquake relief. Now at the whopping age of 7, she's moved her efforts to a whole new level. After the earthquake, tsunami and nuclear crisis in Japan, she made posters, collection banks, etc. and went to each classroom at her school (Sequoia Elementary in the Dimond district) and made a brief speech. With the help of some friends, her efforts raised over $1,150 to support relief efforts in Japan.

A pretty amazing group of Oaklanders, no? A bunch of other people were helping make the event happen and were on hand to honor the award recipients. Rita Williams of KTVU News was once again the MC. The principal of Franklin Elementary School (which has taken part in OFRA's "books and balls" program), Jeanette MacDonald was there. Andy Pumphrey, a past Citizen Hero award recipient, was there to cheer on this year's winner. (Andy saved his niece in a 2.5-story fall and was paralyzed from the chest down. Andy is now able to walk unassisted; you may have seen the KTVU segment on it that Rita Williams did a while back.) Karla Jackson, of the Ariel Outreach Mission, was there to sing a song she'd written to thank OFRA, Local 55, and the OBFFA for the support they've given her mission.

Part of the plan for Random Acts was to spread it all over the country and the world, as firefighters and other first responders face the same problems everywhere. Berkeley Firefighters Random Acts was one of the first programs based on the one here in Oakland, and were given a shout-out for their raising of $30,000 for the Alisa Ann Ruch Burn Foundation. Albuquerque Firefighters Random Acts was there. Even mayor Jean Quan and her husband were there -- check out the brief mention in her recent newsletter.

I'd also like to thank some of the many businesses that supported the event:
Linden Street Brewery (I was especially thankful for this)
Fenton's
Oakland Raiders
Oakland A's
Oakland Audio Visual Service
Oakland Zoo
Children's Fairyland
California Canoe and Kayak
East Bay Blue Print
Plus there are lots more outside Oakland, and I know I'm forgetting some (I had to make thank-you slides for all the businesses and groups that supported the event, and it was a lengthy list this year). Thank you all!

my view of the stage