'It felt like the end of our world'
- By Redding Record Searchlight staff
- Posted May 23, 2013 at 8:52 p.m., updated May 23, 2013 at 10:30 p.m.
Authorities say a 5.7-magnitude quake struck Plumas County and reverberated throughout the north state this evening, though no injuries have been reported.
At least 17 aftershocks have followed the initial quake.
The initial earthquake struck near the southeastern shore of Lake Almanor around 8:47 p.m. and was felt in Redding. Shasta County dispatchers say they are monitoring emergency traffic in Plumas County in case officials there need aid.
Allen Shephard, with the Quail Lodge at Lake Almanor, said his lodge was trashed by the quake, which was only a few thousand feet from the lodge.
"The whole entire place. Dishes plum out of the counter, computers thrown everywhere," said Shephard.
He and his wife, Susan, were watching The Hunger Games on Netflix when the ground began rumbling.
"The whole building starts shaking," Susan Shephard said. "(Allen Shephard) started screaming. All of a sudden things started falling off the shelves, mirrors fell off the wall, vases fell down to the floor. Everything started crashing.
"It felt like the end of our world."
While speaking via the iPhone's Facetime, Shephard said she felt another aftershock. She said she felt three within five minutes after the first earthquake.
She said no one was hurt.
Residents from McCloud, Shingletown, Anderson, Redding, Bella Vista, Happy Valley, McArthur and other north state communities commented on the Record Searchlight's Facebook page, saying that they'd felt the quake.
Estimates on the earthquake's strength have varied between 5.6 and 5.9. The United States Geological Survey is reporting the quake's strength as 5.7 as of 9:05 p.m.
The USGS reports that the earthquake's reach stretches as far east as Reno, Nev.
Rafael Abreau, a geophysicist with the U.S. Geological Survey's National Earthquake Center, says the temblor struck at 8:47 p.m. and was centered six miles west northwest of Greenville, and 26 miles southwest of Susanville.
Abreu says there have been no reports of damage in early field reports.
Abreu said the shaking measured by the quake could have inflicted light damage of structures.
Two aftershocks occurred within 20 minutes. The second 3.5-magnitude quake occurred around 8:55 around a mile east of the first quake. A smaller, 2.6-magnitude quake hit around a little over a mile south of the first earthquake's location at around 9:04 p.m.
Other quakes followed in the area surrounding the epicenter.
Dispatchers in Plumas County reported several alarms going off around 9:02 p.m. Plumas County Sheriff's deputies are checking on homes.
Denise Yergenson, a spokeswoman for Cal Trans, said the agency has received no reports of rockslides or damage to state buildings. However, they are checking Highway 89 between Chester and Canyondam.
Workers are also checking structures and bridges, a routine procedure following an earthquake.
A dispatcher with the Plumas County Sheriff's dispatch said no injuries have been reported.
Pacific Gas & Electric is reporting around 624 customers without power in or near Prattville in an outage that was reported at 9:39 p.m. this evening, on the southwestern edge of Lake Almanor. However, PG&E hasn't said whether the outage is due to the quake.
Source: http://www.redding.com/news/2013/may/23/56-quake-plumas-county/Check out http://groups.yahoo.com/group/californiadisasters/
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