It began with an earthquake. What hit San Francisco in 1906 was one of the worst natural disasters in American history. Once the water mains broke, there was no way to fight the dozens of fires caused by ruptured gas mains, except by dynamiting buildings in the fire’s . . . (Subscription required.)
via The New Yorker http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2012/11/26/121126fa_fact_lepore