There is a remarkable film that was taken from a cable car going up Market Street just a few days before the quake. Available on YouTube.
Read some books on this. The Army almost did more damage than the earthquake did by dynamiting many houses to make firebreaks. Embers from this demolition that were blown in the air made the firebreaks useless.
In a scene from the 1936 movie “San Francisco,” an iconic SF house was dynamited to make a firebreak. In real life the house survived the 1906 quake. It was not so lucky in the 1989 quake and had to be demolished due to damage.
Japan is flaring up with swarms of Quakes. Is the West Coast next?