In just a few seconds on Oct. 17, untold numbers of windows were shattered, trapping pedestrians in glass storms and sending shards spitting through homes and businesses. I. Magnin's department store alone lost 73 plate glass windows to the earthquake.
Some of the windows have been replaced, some boarded up and some ignored. The amount of glass needed to help in the recovery exceeds supplies on hand in most cases, and that has strained the glass pipeline."We are small but we lost all our stock," said H. Behrouz, office manager for City Glass Express and Kaiser Glass, both of which closed for four days to clean up the mess left by the quake.
"We had over $15,000 worth of stock on hand. . . . When it shook, all our glass and mirrors fell from the racks," he said. "We still haven't got the (replacement) glass we need."
"The system is definitely strained," said Bob Hansen, manager for National Glass.
But four of the nation's big glass manufacturers are on the West Coast, and replacements are on the way. No one has statistics on just how many windows shattered.
Libbey-Owens-Ford in Lathrop began increasing shipments the day after the quake, although the company was also damaged, said Randy Zatrock, manager of customer service.