From the Archives: The Santa Fe Springs Oil Well Fires

In the late 1920s, a string of deadly oil well fires broke out in Santa Fe Springs, near Los Angeles, California. The first big fire started on September 16, 1928, when a well owned by George F. Getty Inc. exploded without warning. The blast was felt more than a mile away, and the fire that followed burned for nearly two months. These fires were a serious danger to workers, nearby neighborhoods, and the surrounding land.

The 1928 Getty well explosion was enormous. The force of the blast threw a 122-foot steel tower called a derrick clear across onto Telegraph Road. A gas blowout — a sudden, uncontrolled release of oil and gas — caused the explosion. Within an hour, the fire was burning so hot that workers and firefighters could not get closer than 1,000 feet. All the fire equipment in the area was called in just to protect nearby buildings and homes.

Putting out the Getty fire required a smart two-step plan. First, workers dug a 200-foot underground shaft, going down 60 feet below the flames. This allowed them to redirect some of the oil and gas so the fire had less fuel pushing it. Second, on November 4, 1928, a large crane was used to lower a five-ton steel cap onto the top of the well. That heavy cap smothered the fire and finally put it out.

Just five days after the Getty fire was capped, another well exploded. This one was owned by the Bell View Oil Co., also in Santa Fe Springs. Four nearby derricks caught fire, and four more were knocked down on purpose to stop the flames from spreading. Sadly, one worker lost his life. The Bell View fire was reported to be fully out by December 2, 1928, according to the Los Angeles Times.

The fires did not stop there. On January 9, 1929, another blowout destroyed two more Santa Fe Springs wells. That fire was brought under control just three days later. Then, on June 10, 1929, two more wells ignited and seven derricks were destroyed. One of those fires was put out within a week. The other fire, at a well owned by McKeon Oil Co., burned for 26 days before it was finally stopped.

To stop the McKeon well fire, workers used the same tunnel-and-cap method that had worked before. A 75-foot-long tunnel was dug 40 feet underground, beneath the burning well. Inside the tunnel, workers built a 12-by-12-foot chamber so they could attach equipment to siphon off, or drain away, the oil. About 2,900 barrels of oil were burning every single day. The well was finally capped and the fire ended on July 6, 1929.

The Los Angeles Times covered these fires closely. The first Getty well fire got the most attention, with a long story and photo on the front page of the local news section. Each of the other fires also got front-page coverage the day after the blowout. However, follow-up stories about the last three fires were short and placed inside the paper, not on the front page. The Getty fire was even written up in the February 1929 issue of Popular Science magazine, showing how big a deal it was across the country.