[Newspaper]
Publication: The Long Beach Daily Telegram
Long Beach, CA, United States
vol. 23, no. 18, p. 10, col. 1-4
MAROONED IN MILLS BY
RISING FLOOD
Seventy-Five Employes Unable to Get
Home-No Damage Yet in
Industrial District
With eighteen inches standing in the road in front of the Golden State Woolen Mills, and the water rising at an average rate of twelve inches per hour, seventy-five or more employes of the mills, including a large force of girls and young women, are practically marooned at the plant on Nadeau avenue and Lucerne.
This morning the employes of the company waded through six or seven inches of mud on Nadeau avenue, but the road conditions at that time were considerably better than at noon to-day. At ten o’clook the street running in front of the mills were completely inundated and the water was rising rapidly. An hour later twelve inches of water was standing in the center part of the road, and the floods were steadily increasing the depth of the water. In the gutter in front of the mills the water stood to a height of twenty-four inches, and it was found practically impossible to leave the mills. In the yards of the plant twenty inches of water stood in the shallowest parts of the premises, while large piles of lumber were drifting away. away.
The fire in the boiler room was put out at eleven this morning, and all heating facilities were consequently destroyed. Automobiles passing on Anaheim boulevard were running through a veritable river on the road, throwing a sheet of water over the bumpers of the machine, apparently running along under difficulties Several machines attempting to reach the mills were stranded in the mud, while all efforts on the part of the mill officials to get out the company truck, were frustrated.
It was stated at the mills that attempts will be made to procure provisions, and that sleeping quarters will be arranged for the mill.
All of the country surrounding the mills to the north, is completely inundated, and nowhere within the radius of several miles, is any solid ground visible.
"The only way that I see that we can get out of the mils," W. R. Shanks, superintendent for the mills, stated, "is to get several rowboats and pull out that way. It is very improbable that we can get the boats before night however. The stream in the Cerritos Slough is too strong to row against, and the only way that we could get them out here would be on automobiles. To the north of us three autos are stuck in the mud, and we can see several teams stuck the same way. The men could wade out easily enough, but of course the girls couldn’t do that, while it would be too much of a job to carry them the three hundred yards to the Anaheim road. There the water seems to stand pretty deep too, and I should judge that at least ten inches of water stands over the landscape as far as I can see. The only way that we have of telling that there is ground within several miles is by the tops of bushes."
"The water is rising steadily," Mr. Shanks stated later, "and is working its way up against the wall outside of the mills. If it keeps on rising at the same rate for another hour the floor of the buildings will be flooded, and that will of course increase our un-comfort. We have plenty of blankets to keep us warm for the night, should we be forced to camp here, but at that our position is not to be envied.
"Of course the mills will have to be closed down for the time being at least, and it will probably be more than two weeks before we can go into operation again. This situation is doubly regretted by us, placing us out of commission when we are behind in orders, and putting at least 100 people out of work. Our payroll averages more than a thousand dollars per week, and under the night and day shifts which we operated two months ago, it was nearly double that.
Mr. V. G. R. Wilbur, manager of the local woolen mills, was unable reach the mills this morning, and stated that he would do everything to improve the conditions at the mills. This afternoon he was negotiating for the use of several rowboats, and will probably sail to the rescue of his stranded employes before dark.
The rains which had abated shortly after noon, resumed a steady downpour north of the city this afternoon, and sent the waters in the slough up several inches. Conditions all along the slough are precarious and considerable damage has been reported.
Three large rowboats and two barges, the property of H. W. Johnston, were swept along by the racing stream, and carried on to the inner harbor. J. W. Hager, who set out to get them in another rowboat, was swept down the torrent and was unable to land until he had been well down to the inner harbor. After strenuous pulling at the oars he beached his boat, but was unsuccessful in getting the lost craft.
Several houses to the north of State street were completely marooned, and several families were forced to abdicate on improvised rafts and rowboats. Sand bags were thrown up about a home near Willowville to prevent the water from washing away the home, while hand pumps and gasoline engines were in demand to throw the water out of the cellars in many of the business places and homes in the city.
The ocean off Long Beach has been transformed into a sea of mud and water from the city drainage and the waters from the Cerritos slough and the San Gabriel River.
Whipped on by a strong south wind, the big breakers piled up on the beach in a continuous succession of large white caps, and lashed the beach with unrelenting ferocity. The difference between the high and low tides was hardly noticeable during the day, two feet being estimated as the difference between the high and low marks.
Piling in towards shore in a field of white, the big breakers raided the extreme end of the west walk on Seaside boulevard. The sight as the crash-ground swells, lashed on by a snapping thirty-mile breeze, broke over the wrecked boulevard and whipped the surface within the breaker line into a smother of foam, was one of the prettiest ever seen along the ocean front.
A camera man from the Pathe News service took numerous scenes along the battered walk, declaring them to be the wildest ever taken along the coast. Several companies of the Kalem Motion Picture Company, acted a number of scenes along the front, being taken for a smuggling picture to be produced.
Storm Drains Choked
Accompanied by Fire Chief Joseph E. Shrewsbury, Commissioner James R. Williams of the public safety department this morning made a trip of investigation through the industrial district near the tuna plants and the California Shipbuilding company's establishment. Commissioner Williams found the storm drains badly choked up. Under the supervision of Commissioner Williams the storm drains were cleaned out so that the water could flow away. Though large quantities of water had collected in various parts of the industrial district, no damage had been caused, Commissioner Williams stated.
After making a thorough inspection of the industrial district Commissioner Williams and Fire Chief Shrewsbury drove to Anaheim road. They found Anaheim road in good condition. The water is rapidly raising in that section of the city, and to give the storm waters that are pouring down from the west and northwest districts plenty of leeway a gang of men under the direction of Commissioner Williams cut an outlet through Pico street about 20 feet north of Anaheim road. This outlet will permit the storm waters to make their way to Cerritos slough and will tend to protect the bridge that is located in that district.
Commissioner Williams and Fire Chief Shrewsbury were forced to abandon their automobile at certain points near Anaheim road. As they both wore boots they encountered no difficulty in getting about.
"There is a large quantity of water north of the city, "stated Commissioner Williams, in commenting upon the situation. "There does not appear to be any danger that the water will disturb Anaheim road. The pile-driver is still at work, and with the gang of men that is employed in that locality I believe that the city’s interests will be properly protected. The water is rising pretty fast all around that part of the city, but I think that the cut that we made through Pico street will enable the water to flow away without inflicting any damage."
Dominguez Dam Gives Way
Residents in the north and northwest parts of the city are taking every precaution to protect their property from the storm waters that are reported increasing in those localities.
Mrs. Emil Mais, who lives at Perris and Hill, stated this morning that on Pico street the water was about a foot high. The dam that the Dominguez people constructed has given away and the storm waters are surging down from the Los Angeles river.
Mrs. Mark K. Leuer, who resides Pico street and Hill, this morning reported that the water around her residence was about 10 inches in depth. As the Leurs have horses on their property they expect to have no difficulty in reaching safety should the storm waters become too rampant.
J. Dregar, who lives on the Wilmington road near Perris road, reported that there was water on both sides of his property. He stated that the new dam had given way and that the water was rising very noticeably, and was already crossing the Wilmington road. Near Bixby hill, west of the P. E. line that runs between Long Beach and Los Angeles, the storm waters were pretty high and in places had attained a depth of 5 feet. Where the water was the deepest, however, proved to be in sparsely-settled territory.
The manager of the Long Beach Salt Company reported that as yet his plant had not been bothered by the storm waters. He stated that every precaution was being taken to protect the company's salt crop of 8,000 or 10,000 tons. This crop is worth at least $75,000, according to a rough estimate, and the company will guard it by every precaution possible.
Oil Tanks Swept Out
C. W. Lyons, watchman for the California Glass and Insulator Company, just east of the city limits on Anaheim road, stated that two large oil tanks in the yards of the company had been ripped off their standards and swept out by the floods. On their way down stream fences and small houses were torn down, and large piles of lumber drawn along down stream.
The office of the company facing the road, is also endangered through the heavy floods and work upon the flume under construction at this point, was completely abandoned. Large rafts of lumber were swept away, and the road is more than eighteen inches under water.
The tressle of the P. E. running just north of the glass works, is also endangered, and no work can be under taken due to the heavy floods racing through the sloughs.
Just what the damage to the Anaheim road will be, is yet in doubt, but Mr. Lyons stated that there would probably be a washout just in front of the works before night. The former rains had torn down the bank of the road to a considerable extent, and the road was slightly caved at the time, and with the present rains coming down in the hills, and the heavy torrents tearing down to the Inner harbor, It is expected that considerable damage will be done.