The Seattle quake reminds me that our racer friend Ken Walkey lives where
the ruptured gas line was blazing from under the street after the last big
LA quake. I'm sure you all remember those pictures from TV coverage of the
event. Luckily, and unlike Ken, Dave Haller and Steve Pitt seem to only
have wild memories after yesterday but no damage.
Once again it reminds me that we here in Salt Lake City, live along the
Wasatch Fault. My wife teaches school and took an "earthquake" class as
part of re-certification a few years ago. From her information we know the
following; The actual fracture line is 1/2 mile from us, 1/4 mile from
USFRA Treasurer, Hugh Coltharp and a few feet from the home of Bonneville
radio announcer and record holder Ron Christensen. Dave and Carol Koehler
who are one of the primary safety teams on the salt live about 1/2 mile from
a point near the mouth of Big Cottonwood Canyon where seventeen fault lines
intersect.
Salt Lake (as well as the Bonneville salt flats) is located over an ancient
lake bed and should an earthquake hit, liquefaction (as was experienced in
the San Francisco earthquakes where the substrate turns to mush) could do
the greatest damage.
... and we were wondering what Andy Green breaking the sound barrier with
the accompanying shock wave would have done to the Bonneville salt surface!
It messed up a 1/2 mile swath on the desert floor at Black Rock. Viewers
said the ground looked like scrambled eggs.
Wes
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