Community Corner

Capitola News, 100 Years Ago Today: Deadly Explosion

On this date in 1911, two local men died in a gasoline blast.

On this date (Nov. 25) in 1911, the San Francisco Call ran an article on a local deadly explosion in which two men lost their lives. The original story is pasted below.

Warning: the article is a bit of a trainwreck—one of those can't-look-away reads.

TWO MEN DIE FROM BURNS AFTER BLAST

Find out what's happening in Capitola-Soquelwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Victims at Capitola Heights, With Clothing Ablaze, Run Until Help Arrives

As a result of burns received in a gasoline explosion while boring a well on Capitola Heights, John Whitt and Guy Huston were so badly burned that they died several hours afterward.

Find out what's happening in Capitola-Soquelwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Finding that the engine was not working properly, the victims made a torch with the intention of heating the engine. A spark caused a can of distillate to explode. With their clothing in a mass of flames, Whitt and Huston started to run, but before help arrived the clothing of both was burned off their bodies. They were burned from head to foot.

Whitt was unable to speak, but Huston, in an incoherent manner, gave a vague story of the accident. The men were brought to Santa Cruz for treatment. Whitt died at 6 o'clock and Huston an hour later.

Unlike plenty of other stories we find from a century ago, this one would certainly still make the news today.

Are there any historical topics you'd like us to dig up old Capitola-Soquel stories on? Tell us in the comments!


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here