A smoke-filled Thanksgiving

JERRY PERSON

Next week, millions across the nation will sit down with their

families to enjoy a hearty Thanksgiving feast. Be it a huge turkey

with all the trimmings or a humble meal made by someone who is

homeless, one thing is certain -- the memories that the occasion

provokes.

Thanksgiving has always been special here in Huntington Beach. For

many longtime residents, one special Thanksgiving will always be

remembered.

The week leading up to Thanksgiving of 1947 began much as it does

today, with people running to the grocery store to stock up for the

day’s feast.

Life in our town included many Main Street merchants decorating

their store windows in autumn colors and awaiting the arrival of that

year’s Santa Claus parade.

It all seemed peaceful now that the war was over and the men were

home again.

Well, maybe to all except Ernie Koppl, an oil tool inventor in

Huntington Beach who had his 1941 Ford stolen while he was in Los

Angeles on Thanksgiving eve.

All along Coast Highway, a dark ribbon of derricks was silhouetted

in the nighttime sky as they stretched northward.

It was a quiet night before the big day when, over at the O.D. Oil

Company’s well 14th Street and Pacific Coast Highway, a small fire

started around 9:50 p.m. In minutes, the fire shot its flames into

the night sky.

Huntington Beach Fire Chief J.K. Sargent and his men rushed to the

scene to find one well ablaze with a second well on the property

catching fire shortly after. Heavy winds were fanning the fire and

spreading the acrid smoke throughout the town.

Huntington Beach Councilman Lee Chamness had our police department

round up every available man to help fight the blazing inferno.

Huntington Beach, more than any beach town, knows what damage

could result when an oil well catches fire and spreads those burning

drops of oil high into the air.

Chamness and fellow Councilman Fred Grable spent that night

directing traffic and aiding our firemen.

One fire truck after another arrived at the burning scene, and

even before the trucks stopped rolling, firemen were unrolling the

hoses and attaching them to hydrants. Throughout the night, water

poured from the hoses as its cooling liquid was spread on the burning

embers.

Several oil storage tanks filled with crude black gold were now

burning furiously and lighted the night sky. The winds continued to

fan the flames now even more.

There would be many empty seats around that year’s dinner tables

as more men were called to fight the blaze.

Steel derricks melted and crashed to the ground. Streetlights near

the blazing inferno began to warp and melt into grotesque shapes.

Their steel anchoring bolts melted onto the nuts holding the poles in

place.

Like the little engine that could, one of those metal streetlights

also refused to give up. Although its body twisted and turned, its

heart never wavered as its light bulb continued to shine.

Water pressure began to fall and city fire trucks were placed in

tandem to boost the water pressure. Lines were laid from 17th Street,

where another fire truck forced water down to the 14th Street fire.

Another fire alarm sounded, this one from the Compton Oil Company

site at Olive Avenue and 18th Street. Members of the Newport Beach

Fire Department answered this blaze.

When the fire was finally out, the owners of the O.D. Oil Company,

the Beloil Company, the Stanton Oil Company and the Wilshire Oil

Company all had damages to their property to the tune of $100,000.

Those who lived through that memorable Thanksgiving will never

forget the smell of smoke and those heroic men who gave up their

Thanksgiving feast to save our town.

As for Ernie Koppl, police recovered his stolen car at 53rd Street

and Western Avenue in Los Angeles without a scratch on it and only

three gallons of gas missing.

* JERRY PERSON is a local historian and longtime Huntington Beach

resident. If you have ideas for future columns, write him at P.O. Box

7182, Huntington Beach, CA 92615.