On December 14, 1963, the dam collapsed, spilling 300 million gallons of water into the hillsides that swept away houses and cars and left three dead. Most of Baldwin Village, including the historic Village Green community, was flooded as well. The crack in the dam was ultimately attributed to subsidence caused by overexploitation of the Inglewood oil field. The disaster caused the Los Angeles Department of Water & Power to phase out small local reservoirs, opting instead to store water in groundwater basins and behind the Hansen Dam in Lake View Terrace. A muddied Ione Bueter, schoolteacher, takes a break from cleanup chores at her house on Rodeo Road. She leapt over a backyard fence to escape the raging water from the Baldwin Hills Dam disaster. Flood water rose four feet inside her house. Mud covers the entire yard and porch. Photo dated: Dec. 16, 1963.
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