What the 2001 Nisqually earthquake did to Seattle brick chimneys

Seattle Fireplace & Chimney · October 16, 2026

What happened in 2001

The Nisqually earthquake struck on February 28, 2001, at magnitude 6.8. Afterward, a University of Washington and USGS team led by Derek Booth surveyed about 60,000 chimneys in a band from Bremerton to Mercer Island. The UW's April 2001 report on that work says damage was concentrated in West Seattle, the same area hit hardest in the 1965 earthquake, and that it followed the line of the Seattle Fault.

That pattern matters for homeowners today. Chimney damage was not random. It clustered where the ground shook hardest, which means the same streets are likely to see it again in the next large quake.

Why brick chimneys fail first

FEMA's guide to nonstructural earthquake damage (FEMA E-74, 2012) is blunt: unreinforced masonry chimneys are extremely vulnerable to earthquake damage. FEMA notes they may suffer damage even at relatively low levels of ground shaking. They crack, lose bricks, pull away from the house, collapse, or fall through the roof.

The reason is simple. Most older chimneys are a tall, heavy column of brick and mortar with no steel in it, standing above a roof that moves differently from the masonry. The part above the roofline has nothing holding it sideways. FEMA adds that unreinforced masonry chimney construction is generally not allowed in new buildings in higher seismic design categories.

Which Seattle homes have them

Plenty. Census data (American Community Survey, 2020 to 2024) shows 22.8 percent of Seattle homes were built in 1939 or earlier, roughly 90,000 homes and about twice the national share. Tacoma's share is higher still, at 26.9 percent. Those are the Craftsman bungalows, Seattle Box houses and brick Tudors that HistoryLink and the Master Builders' field guide describe, and nearly all of them were built with unreinforced brick chimneys.

Shoreline adds another layer: 30 percent of its homes were built between 1940 and 1959, many with a single masonry fireplace chimney. Newer Eastside homes are more likely to have factory-built metal chimneys inside a framed chase, which behave differently in a quake.

What Seattle did about it

After Nisqually, the City of Seattle required damaged chimneys to be reinforced, braced, removed or replaced with a factory-built chimney. Its Director's Rule 5-2004 then applied that policy to all chimney repairs, not just quake damage. The rule explains that because Seattle has fewer earthquakes than parts of California, the city does not require every unreinforced chimney to come down; instead it requires reinforcement or bracing whenever one is repaired. FEMA E-74 cites the Seattle rule as a model. Confirm current requirements with Seattle's Department of Construction and Inspections (SDCI) before work, and see our post explaining DR 5-2004 for the details.

What to check now, and after any tremor

Damage is not always visible from the yard. After a noticeable quake, do not light the fireplace until the chimney has been looked at, and keep people away from the area below the chimney outside.

• Cracks in mortar joints near the roofline, often in a horizontal line.
• A gap between the chimney and the siding, or a chimney that leans.
• Bricks or mortar on the roof, in the gutters, or in the firebox.
• New water stains near the chimney, which can mean the masonry or flashing shifted.
• Cracked flue tiles, which you cannot see without a camera.

Repair options and typical prices

Our inspection is free: a visual check top to bottom with photos and a written price. If we suspect hidden damage inside the flue, a camera scan is priced at the inspection, before any work.

Typical 2026 ranges for earthquake work: rebuilding the top few courses $1,000 to $3,500, rebuilding the full chimney above the roofline $5,000 to $15,000 or more, and a stainless liner for a cracked flue $1,500 to $5,000. FEMA calls removal and replacement with a metal flue in a framed enclosure the most reliable fix. For a chimney you no longer use, FEMA notes it can be cut down to 1 to 2 feet above the roof, which typically falls in our chimney removal range of $1,000 to $10,000 depending on how much comes out.