Second, larger quake shakes Southern California, also near Ridgecrest, spreading jitters
A magnitude 7.1 earthquake struck Southern California on Friday night, the second major temblor in less than two days and one that rocked buildings across Southern California, adding more jitters to an already nervous region.
The quake was centered near Ridgecrest, the location of the July Fourth 6.4 magnitude temblor that was the largest in nearly 20 years. It was followed by a aftershock first reported as 5.5 in magnitude. Scientists said it appears the fault causing the quakes was growing.
There were reports of Friday night's quake causing some fires and other damage in Ridgecrest, said emergency officials on the scene. On Twitter, people were reporting it was felt not only in Bakersfield but also in Las Vegas, Merced and San Jose.
A total of about 2,242 residents in Ridgecrest and the surrounding areas are without power following the earthquake, according to Southern California Edison. Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Fire Department said no major infrastructure damages were reported.
In Trona and Ridgecrest, two Mojave towns shaken by both quakes, residents answered their phones frantically and in fear.
"They're saying the ground split," said Winter Wilson, who was driving home to Trona from Bakersfield, her voice shaking. "They made me promise not to come."
"I can't talk right now," Heather Rush said as she hurried to get in touch with her sister.
The shaking was less intense in the Los Angeles metro area, and there were no immediate reports of major damage or injuries.
The 7.1 quake occurred on the same fault system as the 6.4 temblor that is now being considered a foreshock. It was farther away from Los Angeles, though still in the Owens Valley.
"This happened at the end of the zone that moved previously," said retired USGS seismologist Lucy Jones.
It has already been followed by several aftershocks, some 15 miles to the northwest, Jones said. She said the fault is likely to be 25 to 30 miles long.
"The fault is growing," Jones said. "We ruptured a piece in the first earthquake [the 6.4 on Thursday], we ruptured a piece in the 5.4 [the aftershock yesterday], and we've ruptured more now."
The epicenter of Friday's quake seemed to be deeper than Thursday's large temblor — tonight's intensity, which scientists use to measure the amount shaking, was absolutely greater tonight, Jones said.
Seismologists said Friday evening's temblor appeared to to be part of the same sequence. Thursday's large earthquake could have actually been the foreshock to today's magnitude 6.9, Jones said.
"There's a 5% chance that this could be followed by an even larger quake" in the next few days, USGS seismologist Robert Graves said.
Gov. Gavin Newsom tweeted on Friday night, "In response to another large earthquake in Southern California tonight, I have activated the @Cal_OES state operation center to its highest level, and the state is coordinating mutual aid to local first responders."
In Ridgecrest, Jeremiah Jones laughed when a Times reporter asked what the latest earthquake felt like. "You mean, what didn't I feel?" he said. "It was bad. Man. It hasn't stopped yet."
Jones was minutes away from his home with friends when the earthquake struck. His friends cried and panicked. TVs and cabinets were damaged.
Jones knew his daughters were out of town, giving him a sense of relief, but he returned to his apartment to assess his own damage. He had prepared for this, putting expensive or dangerous items like TVs and things hung on the walls on the floor.
But even with the precautions, his apartment was torn apart.
"All the expensive stuff was secure, but everything off the cabinets and fridge and drawers, closets — everything was thrown everywhere," he said. "I have a lot to do right now."
When Thursday's quake hit, scientists had warned that it could lead to an even larger quake. Ridgecrest has been rattled by more than 17 magnitude 4 quakes and at least 1,200 aftershocks since Thursday. A magnitude 5.4 aftershock occurred earlier Friday morning — strong enough to awaken some residents of Los Angeles about 125 miles away.
"This is an earthquake sequence," Jones said. "It will be ongoing. It is clearly a very energetic sequences, so there's no reason to think we can't have more large earthquakes."
Friday's quake was larger in magnitude than the destructive 1994 Northridge quake, which measured 6.7 magnitude. But that temblor occurred in an urban area, while this week's huge quakes occurred 100 miles from L..A.
A 7.1 quake in 1999 hit the Hector Mines area of the Mojave Desert. Because of its distance from Los Angeles, it did not cause major damage or injuries.
The July Fourth earthquake had ruptured along a length of fault 10 miles long, from a remote point northeast of Ridgecrest, Calif., a city of 29,000 people, and continued southwest almost all the way to the city limits, scientists said.
The aftershocks will probably "go on for months, if not years," Caltech seismologist Egill Hauksson said earlier Friday.
The odds, he told The Times, were decent that there could be another aftershock of magnitude 5 or greater at some point.
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