Reseda Residents Tap Into an Epicenter of Civic Pride

Some towns want a professional baseball team, others want an opera company. But a number of people in Reseda want their own earthquake, even if they have to wrestle one away from Northridge.

Some seismologists now believe that the Northridge quake was really centered in neighboring Reseda. Not that it makes a bit of difference to the people who lost their lives, or even those who had to evacuate crumbling apartment buildings.

But to some people in Reseda, which has long been considered the kid with shiny shoes of the Valley, an admission that this was not the Northridge shaker but the Reseda rumbler has been too slow in coming, and might even show a bias against the humble 6.5-square-mile community.

In a way, it’s a debate without much meaning. Both communities are part of the city of Los Angeles, and driving south on the wide suburban streets, it’s difficult knowing when the boundary is crossed. To most of L. A., it’s all Duh Valley.

But realtors, politicians and local newspapers have received complaints that Reseda, the original Hub of the Valley, where everyone once had to go to shop before the dawn of the Mall Age, was being snubbed, again. Eric Rose of Councilwoman Laura Chick’s office said they received a complaint from a constituent worried that Reseda “would be overlooked in the recovery.”

Rose said the man was assured that Reseda would get its fair share of any resources. Rose also said Chick has no interest in whether the quake is named for Northridge or Reseda.

Ruth Biafora, a Reseda realtor, said she had heard similar complaints from “people who want to shoot their mouth off.”

Actually, Teri Canfield, the manager of the Northridge Chamber of Commerce, cares, at least a little.

“A lot of people now know where Northridge is,” she said. “We look on that as a positive.”

She also said the identification of the quake with Northridge had caused her phones to ring off the hook. People all over the nation who want to make donations call the Northridge chamber to offer their plastic sheeting, diapers, tents and other things.

Asked if she would like the quake to remain in Northridge, she replied carefully but affirmatively:

“I guess, if there’s no other way to do it, we will make as much positive out of it as we can.”

The fact is, it may be difficult to change the informal designation now that so much time has passed since the 6.6-magnitude quake.

“I’m not sure the identification can be changed in the minds of people since we’ve been calling it the Northridge quake since day one,” said Canfield.

“You can call it whatever you want, but I’m not sure it will make any difference because of the tremendous destruction to the Northridge Fashion Center and Cal State Northridge.”

It’s true, the most graphic images of destruction associated with the quake occurred in Northridge, from the university’s crumbling-by-degrees parking structure to the pancaked Northridge Meadows apartments, where 16 people died.

“Who the heck cares?” was the response of Ann Kinzle, manager of the Reseda Chamber of Commerce. “Where it lands is not important.”

Still, she insisted, “It was in Reseda.”

“The epicenter was at Wilbur and Saticoy, 16 miles down.”

* EPICENTER DISPUTE: Regardless of the latest seismic survey, the quake will still be named after Northridge. A3

New Starting Point

Caltech’s latest coordinates for the epicenter of the Northridge earthquake place it in Reseda. But scientists say further scismographic evidence might lead to another change. And they are sticking with Northridge as the name of the quake.