It’s certainly strange how many fires destroyed multiple cities across the U.S in that time period, not to mention the relation to world fairs. It always bugged me!
We have had some earthquakes of greater magnitude than 7.9, and some with truely massive ground movement relative to their magnitude.
Napier earthquake (7.8) would be the closest in time and magnitude, but the population was tiny (<20k) in comparison to San Fransisco so building density was much lower.
We have had some very bad ones, but the low population has been helpful but some cities (like Christchurch) have been hit very hard.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/1931_Hawke%27s_Bay_earthquak...
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_earthquakes_in_New_Z...
For the uninitiated, I'd say it is a journey you should take on your own, arriving at your conclusions yourself. It is too out of this world otherwise, certainly to compile here in a comment.
A rabbit hole that may take you to places you do not expect.
> The above picture is called the Palace of Fine arts constructed in 1915 for the Panama Pacific International Exposition in San Francisco. If the official history is to be believed then why does this period painting from the early 1900s show the structure already heavily weathered as it is covered in moss and vines. If the building was built when they said it was then it should have looked brand new, instead it looks ancient.
That’s just so wholesome and fun. No mention of Q or pedos or anything.