"It shook me out of bed, and the big screen TV flew off across onto the bed," said Pat Askren.
Millions of Southern Californians got the same unexpected wakeup call that Askren did on January 17, 1994. The magnitude 6.7 Northridge earthquake hit at 4:31 a.m. Askren was Fillmore’s Fire Chief at the time.
"I got up, and walked outside. I looked to the right, and there were flames 150 feet in the air, and said we're in deep trouble," said Askren. A major gas line which run through Fillmore had been ruptured by the quake, creating a fireball of flames.
While most of the media attention was focused on the Los Angeles area, parts of Ventura County were also hit hard. Simi Valley and Santa Paula were among the communities with significant damage. But Fillmore had 500 homes and businesses damaged or destroyed. The city's Masonic Temple was gutted. It's movie theater was heavily damaged. And, the Fillmore Hotel still stood, but the quake stripped its walls bare of bricks, so you could see inside of second floor rooms.
Richard Diaz was Fillmore’s Police Chief in 1994. He remembers that day vividly. "I got in my police car, and I could see the fire. The hotel's facade fell off. You could see the beds and stuff. It was unbelievable," said Diaz.
Some Fillmore residents gathered at the Fillmore Historical Museum to talk to us about their memories of the earthquake.
"I was up with my husband in bed, in our waterbed. We were rocking and rolling, and couldn't get out," said Christine Villegas. She said they were afraid to sleep indoors for the first few days after the quake, so they camped outdoors.
250 Fillmore homes were red-tagged because of quake damage. But miraculously, there were no deaths. Many credit the fact the quake occurred early in the morning, when most people were in bed.
Nancy Bowlyn was another Fillmore resident whose home was turned into a mess by the quake.
"My house did not fall down...it just shook. But, everything that could break in my house broke," said Bowlyn.
Askren said immediately after the quake, portable buildings were put up in a nearby park, so businesses could keep operating. And, he said aid poured into the community, and not just from Ventura County.
He said the Indianapolis Fire Department called out of the blue, and sent a big rig full of new clothes, another filled with food. They eventually even gave the Fillmore Fire Department one of their surplus rescue units.
Askren said rebuilding took years, but the downtown area is once again busy. "Everything seemed to click, and we got help from everybody."
Three decades after it happened, the quake is little more than a memory for many, and something out of a history book for others. "We all talk about it periodically, and how we recovered," said Martha Gentry, who is Executive Director of the Fillmore Historical Museum. She credits the city with helping to steer the community through the crisis.
The museum is hosting two commemorative events this week. The museum’s Sue Zeider says there’s a virtual event Thursday, and an in person event Saturday featuring a 1994 PBS TV special by Huell about the quake’s impacts on Fillmore.
"30 years...we've got a lot of people who weren't born in 1994. We also have a lot of new residents," said Zeider.
You can find details on the commemorative events here. The organizers feel their message is more than just remembering the Northridge quake, it’s also being prepared for the next big one, because we live in quake country.
