Photograph was edited for publication purposes. 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. Mr. and Mrs. Spinrad look at a station wagon buried in mud to its fenders. Tree limbs and other vegetation are embedded in the windshield. Eucalyptus tree trunks rise above the debris and rubble that were washed down several blocks by the flood waters from the Baldwin Hills Reservoir break. Photo dated: Dec. 16, 1963.
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