Kern City (East Bakersfield) suffers a fire
(perhaps in 1898)
In CITY ALONG THE KERN (page 23), Eugene Burmeister claims that many businesses were destroyed in a 1898 fire that started in the California Theater. The city was resurrected from the ashes and by the turn of the century East Bakersfield had a population of 1,300.
![Swedish rooming house half a block north of 19th Street on west side of Baker Street, run by Mr. and Mrs. Frank Fornas shown in picture with their children.](http://oldtownkern.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/swedish-rooming-house-1024x693.jpg)
Swedish rooming house half a block north of 19th Street on west side of Baker Street, run by Mr. and Mrs. Frank Fornas shown in picture with their children.
![Fire at Humboldt (E. 21st) Street with man & bicycle](http://oldtownkern.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/B7810CAD-2610-4522-B2F5-C956C6AEB773.jpeg)
![The Metropole Hotel burns in the background as a man passes by](http://oldtownkern.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/10E33EFE-0E80-452D-A5B5-ED77D35E2E40.jpeg)