The Cajon Pass is under historic levels of stress — and not from commuters fuming on the 15 Freeway. The Pass is the juncture of the San Andreas and San Jacinto earthquake faults, which have been quiet. Too quiet, in horror movie terms.
“Tectonic stress has continued to build along these faults, increasing the likelihood of a large future rupture. One key area of concern is Cajon Pass, where the two fault systems meet and could potentially rupture together,” according to a study that’s in the news.
Scientists in Hawaii, Pasadena and La Jolla, taking a break from enjoying life in their respective paradises, used computer simulations of the past 1,000 years of seismic activity to learn how fault stress builds.
In other words, they looked at the region since the year 1100. The last major earthquakes at this juncture were the Wrightwood quake in 1812 and the Fort Tejon quake in 1857. The lack of a major quake since then suggests that “the system is critically stressed,” the study concludes.
In fact, the last time the Cajon Pass was near today’s level of stress was in 1249, right before the midterms. I mean, right before an earthquake.
How should we react to this worrisome news? True, “the Big One” could occur today, possibly during lunch, but hopefully before the bill arrives. But it also might not occur in our lifetimes.
Another reason to take a deep breath is this. The report speculates that the Cajon Pass is a sort of traffic cop between the two earthquake faults. In the past 1,000 years, five ruptures were limited to the San Andreas and four to the San Jacinto.
“This suggests that Cajon Pass could act as an ‘earthquake gate,’” the report says, “which sometimes blocks and other times allows large ruptures to propagate between faults.” The report calls those “Gate Open” and “Gate Closed” events.
The most recent quake, the one in 1857, was “Gate-Closed” and did no damage “south of the Cajon Pass.” Good news if you live in San Bernardino and bad news if you live in Hesperia.
This study seems too big, literally, to expend energy fretting about. It’s fun to talk about, though. And it did spawn this headline in the L.A. Times: “The San Andreas fault has gone ominously silent. Scientists fear when it finally snaps.”
It’s like the San Andreas fault is that fabled keeps-to-himself neighbor of whom we’ll all say one day in wonder: “Gee, he seemed so quiet.”
IE in DC
The head of the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of American History testified last week before a House Oversight subcommittee. Following a critical White House report, some GOP members said the museum isn’t waving the flag with sufficient vigor.
The director in question is Anthea M. Hartig, who as it happens was born and raised in Rancho Cucamonga, got her master’s and doctoral degrees from UC Riverside, and began her career in the city of Riverside’s planning department and at La Sierra University.
Hartig went on to the National Trust for Historical Preservation and the California Historical Society before being named director of the National Museum of American History in 2018.
The first woman to hold that position is also the first to hail from the Inland Empire. This means Anthea Hartig is, among a long list of other achievements, almost certainly the first Smithsonian director to be familiar with Baker’s Drive-Thru.
RIP, Joey’s
The last day for Joey’s Bar-B-Q in Chino is Sunday, July 26. Founders Ray and Luria Moors, who met in Texas, launched their restaurant on June 28, 1978 in a building on the western edge of town near a couple of egg ranches.
They named the restaurant for their toddler, Joey.
I’ve eaten at the Joey’s in Chino a few times over the years. My friends and I were partial to the former Joey’s branch in downtown Pomona. That’s where we celebrated birthdays or ate dinner before shows at the Glass House. There were also locations in Rancho Cucamonga and Upland.
I went to the original, and now only, Joey’s for a farewell lunch on Thursday, before a replacement restaurant, Eli Joe’s BBQ Market, takes over. There’s no mad rush or a line out the door in the waning days, surprisingly, so I had immediate seating and a pleasant experience.
While at lunch, I learned the story has a twist.
Joey’s is being passed on to its namesake, Joseph Moors. And Joey and wife Melanie will name the reborn restaurant after their son, just as the original was named for him.
First comes a renovation. And then the tradition will continue.
brIEfly
In the “Hints From Heloise” column July 18, a hint was contributed by “Janet, in Rancho Cucamonga”: “After opening any size carton of ice cream, put a piece of plastic wrap over the carton before putting the lid on. The ice cream doesn’t develop ice crystals and tastes better.” Janet Cerswell tells me her appearance in the nationally syndicated column was a special thrill because it came on her birthday. I hope she had cake, with a side of frost-free ice cream.
David Allen writes (hint, hint!) Sunday, Wednesday and Friday. Email dallen@scng.com, phone 909-483-9339, and follow davidallencolumnist on Facebook or Instagram, @davidallen909 on X or @davidallen909.bsky.social on Bluesky.