Hello, The famous signal hill Hancock Oil fire was the biggest one in that area at the time. It was a mess. We lived in the Westside of Long Beach, about 4 miles away. But, it wasn’t just miles away, it was 4 miles away “upwind.” The prevailing winds come from the Pacific Ocean off of the Long Beach/ San Pedro/ Palos Verdes Peninsula coast line. (including the L.A. South Bay shoreline and the “West winds” come blowing into the land area daily around 1-2 pm. Sometimes earlier.) Although, we always got that wind blowing all kinds of fumes from the Wilmington refinery fields and processing plant, as well as the local harbor activities, including the many fiberglass spraying of boat hulls for the public. We got those daily smells. Currently, the health department of Long Beach and Los Angeles have deemed the Westside of Long Beach a continual hazard zone for constant air pollution. But, at the time of the Hancock Oil fire in Signal Hill, we were lucky to be upwind in this case. The prevailing winds took the fire and smoke to the East at the beginning and continued on throughout the duration. We lived in funky air all of the time, but this time at least we could see the sky. Those poor souls in Lakewood and farther East in Orange County got the brunt of the smoke/smell dispersal from Signal Hill. It was a good thing that those people on the hill overlooking the huge fire were up wind from the destruction. That giant hill area with oil derricks provided plenty of viewing areas for all sorts of activities. But, viewing a massive fire was unexpected. The mild custom Chevy sedan was typical of the style in So Cal at the time. Lowered, painted rims, and with a car club plate attached to the rear bumper area. Actually, it may not have been lowered, but in the photo, it looks lowered due to 4 teenagers inside the lowered windows cab. They had the stock 6 cylinder motors like the ones from the factory. Remembering those exhaust sounds was really something, compared to a rumbling, heavy duty, big V8 motor. Tinny, somewhat high pitched and definitely, memorable. Sometimes, the 6 cylinder exhaust was split into dual pipes with mufflers that made a "blaaaat" sound known for those early 6 cylinder motors. One of the car clubs in Long Beach at the time. Could it be the same car club plaque during the same time period? A great example of a 1950’s or early 1960’s cruiser for the locals. Jnaki The fire was one of the worse big fires in Long Beach history. We saw it, smelled it and were amazed that it was right in the middle of our cruising area South of Bixby Knolls. But, at least, we were out of the primary smoky area downwind. Los Angeles Examiner Photographs Collection, USC Digital Library We cannot imagine our old Westside of Long Beach house surrounded by this thick black smoke. Herald Examiner Collection, Los Angeles Public Library
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