The L.A. City Council passed an ordinance providing a million dollars in relief funds for victims of the St. Francis disaster. By March 18, the Los Angeles Times had raised over $55,000 in disaster funds from its readers. The LA Record, which was anti-L.A. Water Department, declared Mulholland to, “RESIGN--NOW!” because of the disastrous St. Francis Dam incident. A sign was placed on a ranch in Santa Clara, which was destroyed by the water of the dam, that read “Hang Mulholland.” Death threats were pouring in, and a few residents sued the city. Mulholland claimed the cause of the dam collapse was dynamite, and some rumors said that if the reason for the dam collapsing were not dynamite, he would take the blame “like a man.”
The St. Francis dam after the disaster. The sides collapsed, leaving only the part in the middle.
“William Mulholland on the witness stand at the coroner’s inquest into the St. Francis Dam Disaster.” Mulholland was blamed for the deaths and injuries caused by the dam's collapse.
The St. Francis Dam incident was one of the most destructive disasters in California history. Many thought that this was mainly William Mulholland's fault, while others thought differently. Those who felt that it was Mulholland's fault argued that, while in the beginning of the construction of this dam, the workers had some problems with the terrain. They thought that the place that they were building it was unstable, and that the rocks were greasy. Nevertheless, Mulholland ignored this fact. Those who felt that it was not his fault argued that there was dynamite involved in the disaster and that he could not have predicted that outcome.