BajaNomad

Earthquake Damage Report From San Francisquito!!!

Pacifico - 4-15-2012 at 07:23 PM

I just returned from a quick trip to San Francisquito. We were down there when the recent earthquake struck a few days ago. It was a huge earthquake and was pretty scary.... I heard it was centered up near San Rafael - I hope Pancho is ok! Nobody was hurt at the resort - only scared.

Tons of damage to the resort. Not all damage is pictured; their diesel tank out by the generator collapsed and there is sporadic damage throughout the place. The termite damage was so bad in the old bar area that it finally came down. Over the years, we have slept many nights out in the bar area....lucky nobody was sleeping out there! The roof over the big outdoor eating area is still up. Out of the 4 remaining cabanas, 1 is really bad, and another has quite a lean to it. I don't think I would trust the other 2 any longer. Pictures tell a thousand words.....



















Ateo - 4-15-2012 at 07:32 PM

Damage indeed. Glad no one was injured.

Bajaboy - 4-15-2012 at 07:40 PM

Glad you're okay. Also, if any Nomads get down to see Pancho, please post an update.

BornFisher - 4-15-2012 at 07:47 PM

Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeewww................. They took a pounding!!!!!!!!
Thanks for the report, scary indeed!!!

Skipjack Joe - 4-15-2012 at 08:56 PM

Wow. They lost their kitchen. What now?

Sad to see this damage, but...

thebajarunner - 4-15-2012 at 09:41 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Skipjack Joe
Wow. They lost their kitchen. What now?


The last meal I had there- well, whatever kitchen it came from is no great loss, IMO

Paulina - 4-15-2012 at 09:51 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Bajaboy
Glad you're okay. Also, if any Nomads get down to see Pancho, please post an update.


Zac,

We saw Pancho last week, pre earthquake, and he was fine. There were quite a few people camping there, up on the bluff next to his house. I took him some sugar, cigs and sweet rolls. He insisted I take some abulon shells in return.

P>*)))<{

Curt63 - 4-15-2012 at 10:02 PM

Glad no one was hurt.

Thats a real shame. Hope they can rebuild.

Pacifico - 4-16-2012 at 05:48 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by Skipjack Joe
Wow. They lost their kitchen. What now?


The kitchen appeared to be ok. There was some damage to the same building, but I think the kitchen is still operational.

paranewbi - 4-16-2012 at 06:24 AM

Wow...sad about the damage, but it can be resurected.

But oh man, some guys are so lucky! You've got one of those 'Remember when"? stories to tell for life! Pretty unique for any Mex traveler!

Jealous in a sick way :)

Hook - 4-16-2012 at 07:13 AM

Hey Pacifico, can you estimate HOW LONG the quake seemed to go on for you guys? Over here on the mainland and a bit south of the epicenter, it felt like it shook for AT LEAST 30 seconds.

Skipjack Joe - 4-16-2012 at 07:17 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by Pacifico



I thought this looked like the kitchen.

San Francisquito

bajaron182 - 4-16-2012 at 08:04 AM

Was the road into Quito damaged? from through El Arco? how about LA Bay road?
anyone know?

capt. mike - 4-16-2012 at 09:04 AM

possible end to an icon.....or at least a long time before they fix it my guess.
very sad - one of the best places on baja bar none. so glad i had many great trips there and memories!

Ken Bondy - 4-16-2012 at 09:17 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by capt. mike
possible end to an icon.....or at least a long time before they fix it my guess.
very sad - one of the best places on baja bar none. so glad i had many great trips there and memories!


Can't be said any better Mike. Que lastima.

bacquito - 4-16-2012 at 04:16 PM

lotsa damage!

Curt63 - 4-16-2012 at 05:18 PM

In happier days




[Edited on 4-17-2022 by BajaNomad]

David K - 4-16-2012 at 05:25 PM

It has to be one of the nicest beaches in North America!

Bummer I haven't been back since camping there in 1983:

BajaRat - 4-16-2012 at 08:25 PM

So fortunate to hear no injuries, lots of work and history lost but there will be new stories to tell.
Hook you guys OK.

Hook - 4-16-2012 at 09:39 PM

Oh yeah. My SoCal internal seismometer pegged it at about the equivalent of about 5.5 over where we are in Sonora. But it was lengthy.

Pacifico - 4-17-2012 at 08:12 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Hook
Hey Pacifico, can you estimate HOW LONG the quake seemed to go on for you guys? Over here on the mainland and a bit south of the epicenter, it felt like it shook for AT LEAST 30 seconds.


Sorry for the delay on answering....I've been busy at work. It seemed like it shook for about 15-20 seconds. Hard to tell exactly. How did it feel over on the mainland?

Pacifico - 4-17-2012 at 08:16 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Skipjack Joe
Quote:
Originally posted by Pacifico



I thought this looked like the kitchen.


Joe, This is the same building that has the kitchen. I did not go in and check it out, but they said the kitchen was fine. This damage was just north of the kitchen itself.

Pacifico - 4-17-2012 at 08:20 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by bajaron182
Was the road into Quito damaged? from through El Arco? how about LA Bay road?
anyone know?


We went out through El Arco and no damage was noted on that route. Not sure about the LA Bay route. That one hill that has all those red rocks on it has always looked like a big quake would bring it all down onto the road! Maybe it did??? :?:

Skipjack Joe - 4-17-2012 at 09:58 PM

I'll bet la cuesta de la ley ended up with rocks on it.

6.9 Quake at San Francisquito

junkyarddog - 4-18-2012 at 07:23 AM

We were at San Francisquito, sleeping peacefully the night of the quake that Pacifico described so well. Thanks, Pacifico, for saving me the work! Sorry we didn't see you there. It was a dandy! When we finally struggled our way outside, it was almost impossible to stand up and the side-by-sides were rockin' and jumpin'.

Although there were some significant cracks in the earth there, there was no damage to the roads back toward Rancho Escondido (now an alternate place to stay on a visit to SFOquito) and Rancho Piedra Blanca (the place we will overnight on future trips-I highly recommend it - it is 16 miles back on the road to El Arco. Location shows accurately on the Baja Almanac. Phone at the ranch is 615-157-0043 (Spanish only so if you don't get by in Spanish, I suggest email) and email is ranchopiedrablanca@hotmail.com. Guadalupe does a great job and the rooms are new and clean and beds good.

Until the day San Francisquito is rebuilt properly with new construction, we will stay at Piedra Blanca and make day visits to the beach. After the quake, we slept the rest of the night in our side-by-side quads as we deemed the two 'best' cabanas we were staying in to be very unsafe. Ours had a big crack in the left back corner of the foundation wall, among other faults.

It is too bad but it was time for some (most) of those buildings to go away. The airstrips are in great shape. The one that used to be paved has had all of the pavement chunks removed and only has a couple of slightly soft spots in it. I would still use the dirt strip, tho. The originally paved strip is 0.8 of a statute mile long, as measured on my Rhino odometer.

David K - 4-18-2012 at 08:10 AM

junkyarddog, I am interested in hearing more about Piedra Blanca (photos too)... It seems to be an unusual location for a resort?

junkyarddog - 4-19-2012 at 03:44 PM

David, Piedra Blanca is situated in the thick of the Viscaino biosphere where desert vegetation is thick and varied. Cirios appear very healthy there, as do many other species. I saw candelito blooming for the first time in my life! The ranch appears to be doing well and most everything I viewed there appeared well done. Competent might be the right word.
What else would you like to know? I am going to post some pics of our trip on
dropbox and will send you the link if you would like to drop me a note, send it to drdder@gmail.com

LaPazGringo - 4-19-2012 at 04:48 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by David K
junkyarddog, I am interested in hearing more about Piedra Blanca (photos too)... It seems to be an unusual location for a resort?



David, my son and I camped there in the van one night and the people were very friendly. We had been doing 55MPH in the van on the road to San Francisquito and bottomed out, popping the gas tank loose and after a quick temp fix, we were delighted to find smiling faces there that night. They have nice cabins and clean showers. They are Villavicencio people and showed us how to easily find Cueva Carmen on the way back to El Arco, which was our first introduction to rupestrian art. At about 2am we were sure glad we were camping inside fences cause the pack of coyotes sounded like wherewolves that night.

I'm not sure I'd be interested in the drive from Rancho Piedra Blanca to San Francisquito on a daily basis but it's definitely amazing country.

LaPazGringo - 4-19-2012 at 04:50 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by thebajarunner
Quote:
Originally posted by Skipjack Joe
Wow. They lost their kitchen. What now?


The last meal I had there- well, whatever kitchen it came from is no great loss, IMO


I second that. I rolled up on a motorcycle dead tired and starving one evening and would have been happy with pretty much anything. It was lousy and expensive but beat starving and being where I was with a cold Pacifico in hand meant no complaints from me. Next time I'll bring my own food.

goldhuntress - 4-19-2012 at 06:00 PM

My BF stayed at Rancho Piedra Blanca 2 nights ago and though it was great. Hot shower and clean bed and room for 100 pesos. I have met the owners before and agree they seem like very nice people. He drove from there to BOLA the next day, passed by SF. I'd sent him this link so he'd seen the pics and someone on the road said it was closed and there was a lot of military there so maybe they are getting some help. I hope so, it looks like they could use some. He said the road to BOLA sucked but did not say it was because of the earthquake.

Curt63 - 4-20-2012 at 09:03 PM

Im not positive, but I think this is Rancho Piedra Blanca. Can some one verify?




[Edited on 4-17-2022 by BajaNomad]

Skipjack Joe - 4-20-2012 at 09:06 PM

Sure looks like it. A more distant view could help.

Bajaboy - 4-21-2012 at 09:32 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by Curt63
Im not positive, but I think this is Rancho Piedra Blanca. Can some one verify?




Look like the place...I noticed it during the last trip in November. I recall how far the place had come. Nice looking place.

[Edited on 4-17-2022 by BajaNomad]

LaPazGringo - 4-21-2012 at 12:23 PM

That is it!

Curt63 - 4-21-2012 at 12:25 PM

I thought so. its a ranch and I see white rocks.....Hmmmmm

If I recall, thats a long, slow 16 miles to PTSFO

LaPazGringo - 4-21-2012 at 01:26 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Curt63
I thought so. its a ranch and I see white rocks.....Hmmmmm

If I recall, thats a long, slow 16 miles to PTSFO



It's some amazing country though! :wow: We were dead tired and hot that day and man were we glad to find some friendly people. As a heads up, they still charged us 100 pesos even though we didn't even take a cabin so you might as well use their bed instead of camping. It appeared that la senora would cook for you if you asked for it.

Blair - 4-29-2012 at 08:23 PM

Here are some pics from 2010. The ranch and the surrounding area is very interesting. Saw the rooms but didnt get photos. They have fuel too. Great people.











David K - 4-16-2022 at 02:56 PM

10 years ago!

chippy - 4-16-2022 at 03:50 PM

I was in this one. It was pretty crazy. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1989_Loma_Prieta_earthquake

Bajazly - 4-16-2022 at 04:21 PM

Quote: Originally posted by chippy  
I was in this one. It was pretty crazy. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1989_Loma_Prieta_earthquake


I was riding my mnt bike home from work and thought I had a flat tire. When I looked up Willow St in Alameda all the telephone poles were wobbling back and forth like limp spaghetti. Went out to the Cypress structure the next day to photograph it, very sobering.

Vince - 4-16-2022 at 04:36 PM

Wow! Thanks for the report. I started going there by boat in the mid '60's then flying in. Those palapas were very sturdy then. Time to rebuild. I wonder if Rancho Barril had any damage.

chippy - 4-16-2022 at 04:42 PM

Quote: Originally posted by Bajazly  
Quote: Originally posted by chippy  
I was in this one. It was pretty crazy. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1989_Loma_Prieta_earthquake


I was riding my mnt bike home from work and thought I had a flat tire. When I looked up Willow St in Alameda all the telephone poles were wobbling back and forth like limp spaghetti. Went out to the Cypress structure the next day to photograph it, very sobering.


I was out for a run and was in the Marina district when it hit. I had to get in a 3 point stance to stay on my feet. I watched a 3 story appt. building collapse onto the street. We helped some people get out thru their windows on the 2nd floor wich was street level then. The smell of ruptured gas lines was so bad I got out of there right before the fires started. Up the hill where I lived was fine. Only damage was another crack by the fire place to match the one from the 1906 quake.

AKgringo - 4-16-2022 at 05:05 PM

Quote: Originally posted by Vince  
Wow! Thanks for the report. I started going there by boat in the mid '60's then flying in. Those palapas were very sturdy then. Time to rebuild. I wonder if Rancho Barril had any damage.


Vince, this report is from ten years ago.

Hook - 4-16-2022 at 05:36 PM

Bah, just a second ago in geologic time! :biggrin: