Loma Prieta Periodic Comet Machholz 1 96P/Machholz on May 12, 1986. The first official West Coast Messier marathon was conducted from this site in March 1979. The epicenter of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake was near the mountain. The mountain was the longtime site for the transmitter tower of San Jose television station KNTV (from 1955 to 2005). It moved its transmitter northwest to San Bruno Mountain in September 2005, after it became the Bay Area's NBC affiliate. Loma Prieta is the tallest peak in the Santa Cruz Mountains and it is common to see snow on the mountain during the winter.
1989 Loma Prieta earthquake Pipe drove heavy lift equipment to the scene and started using it to raise sections of fallen freeway enough to allow further rescue. Local workers continued their volunteer operation nonstop until October 21, 1989, when they were forced to pause as U.S. President George H. W. Bush and California Governor George Deukmejian viewed the damage. On October 21, survivor Buck Helm was freed from the wreckage, having spent 90 hours trapped in his car. Dubbed "Lucky Buck" by the local radio, Helm lived for another 29 days on life support, but then died of respiratory failure at the age of