For a second day, Southern California was rocked by a major earthquake Friday — this one a 7.1 magnitude — in the same area of the Mojave Desert near Ridgecrest where a 6.4 magnitude temblor caused damage on Thursday.
The U.S. Geological Survey says the quake hit at 8:19 p.m. and was centered 11 miles from Ridgecrest. The agency initially said the earthquake had a magnitude of 7.1, downgraded it to a 6.9 but then readjusted back up to a 7.1.
If the preliminary magnitude is correct, it would be the largest Southern California quake in 20 years.
Multiple fires and injuries have been reported in Ridgecrest — about 150 miles from Los Angeles — after Friday’s earthquake, Kern County spokeswoman Megan Person told CNN. An emergency operations center is being set up in Bakersfield, she said.
“It is on the same fault system and it’s larger,” said Cal Tech seismologist Lucy Jones. “Still in the Owens Valley. My expectation is Ridgecrest is having a difficult time tonight.”
Jones said since Friday’s quake was larger, Thursday’s 6.4 temblor would now be considered a foreshock. The foreshock Friday morning and the 7.1 quake had lengthen the fault line to the northwest away from Los Angeles.
“The fault is growing,” Jones said.
In the hour following the 7.1 temblor, Jones said, there were at least 10 aftershocks of between 4-5 magnitude including a 5.1 at around 9:19 p.m.
The temblor was felt from Long Beach to Las Vegas. .Thursday’s quake caused major damage to buildings and roads in Ridgecrest and reports of even wider destruction began rolling in within an hour of a quake.
Officials in San Bernardino County reported homes shifting, foundation cracking and retaining walls coming down. One person suffered minor injuries and was being treated by firefighters, they said.
“It just started getting stronger and stronger, and I looked into my house and the lamp started to sway. I could see power lines swaying,” he said. “This one seemed 45 (seconds)… I’m still straightening pictures.”
In Las Vegas, the quake rocked the Thomas & Mack Center where a NBA Summer League game featuring top draft pick Zion Williamson was underway. Immediately, officials halted play and fans streamed out of the facility as the massive scoreboard rocked back and forth.
The press box at Dodger Stadium lurched for several seconds, and fans in the upper deck appeared to be moving toward the exit. Enrique Hernandez of the Dodgers was at-bat in the bottom of the fourth when the quake occurred. He stepped out of the batter’s box, but it wasn’t clear if that was because of the quake.
As a comparison, the deadly Loma Prieta Earthquake that ravaged the San Francisco Bay Area in 1989 was a 6.9 magnitude temblor. The 1994 Northridge earthquake was a 6.7.
A powerful quake rattled Ridgecrest, Calif. Friday night, a day after a 6.4-magnitude temblor centered near the same Kern County town was felt across Southern California.
Throughout the night, U.S. Geological Survey officials changed the magnitude estimate of the quake from 7.1 to 6.9 and back.
Gov. Gavin Newsom said he activated the state's emergency operations center to its highest level, and the state was coordinating mutual aid to first responders.
Kern County spokeswoman Megan Person said officials are responding to multiple reports of injuries and multiple reports of fires.
The Kern County Fire Department reported it was responding to at least two structure fires following the quake, while it was also rushing to help battle a vegetation fire outside Bakersfield, Calif, two hours away.
Power outages were reported in and around Ridgecrest and the nearby community of Trona was without power.
Ridgecrest police were asking for emergency assistance, specifically donations of drinking water, as supplies were dwindling in the community. People were asked to leave donations at the Ridgecrest Police Department.
San Bernardino County Fire tweeted that it was receiving multiple 911 calls from the northwest communities of the county, with callers describing cracked foundations and shifted homes. The fire department also tweeted that there was one minor injury in the county.
The Los Angeles Fire Department reported multiple downed power lines and said trains are being temporarily halted while inspectors check for damages.
California District 6 Highways tweeted there was a rock slide that blocked a highway near Kern River Canyon.
Just before 9:30 p.m., the L.A. County Fire Department announced it was sending search and rescue emergency crews to Ridgecrest to assist with any damages.
The epicenter of Friday's powerful quake was 11 miles north-northeast of Ridgecrest, according to the USGS.
Dr. Lucy Jones, a seismologist and founder of the Dr. Lucy Jones Center for Science & Society, clarified that the Fourth of July quake is now considered a foreshock of Friday's quake.
Three minutes before the 7.1 quake, which happened at 8:19 p.m., a 5.0-magnitude quake was centered close by — 9 miles west-southwest of San Bernardino County's Searles Valley,which is about 25 miles from Ridgecrest.
In the first hour after Friday's quake, 15 aftershocks of between 3.0 and 4.7 were registered.
Speaking during a hastily organized news conference Friday night, Jones warned that she expects more earthquakes throughout the night.
"A magnitude 7 usually has aftershocks that last for years," she said."My expectation is that Ridgecrest is having a pretty difficult time. It is a foreshock, when an aftershock becomes bigger than a main shock we change the name to a foreshock."
The day before, on the Fourth of July, a 6.4-magnitude quake also centered near Ridgecrest caused structural damage and injuries near the epicenter, and rattled nerves across Southern California and into Nevada.
Friday's quake was the strongest in at least 20 years in Southern California.
The two quakes are considered two of the most intense temblors to hit the region since 1994's Northridge quake.
Kern County Fire Chief David Witt said emergency officials in Ridgecrest responded to at least two house fires after the Fourth of July quake, a small vegetation fire, downed power lines and gas leaks.
"There are more calls than we have people," Witt said at the time, adding that he expects local officials would get reinforcement. Minor injuries and some structural damage, including buildings with the glass blown out as well as downed grocery store shelves, were reported according to Witt.
A 7.1-magnitude earthquake hit Southern California on Friday night -- the second one near Ridgecrest in less than two days.
The latest earthquake occurred 11 miles northeast of Ridgecrest, according to the US Geological Survey.
It comes a day after a 6.4-magnitude earthquake centered near Ridgecrest rattled the state Thursday. That earthquake has produced more than 1,400 aftershocks, scientists said.
Multiple fires and injuries have been reported in Ridgecrest -- about 150 miles from Los Angeles -- after Friday's earthquake, Kern County spokeswoman Megan Person told CNN. An emergency operations center is being set up in Bakersfield, she said.
In central Los Angeles, Friday's earthquake felt stronger than the one a day earlier, making buildings rock back and forth forcefully. Donald Castle, who lives in Porterville west of Ridgecrest, said his house shook for between 20 and 25 seconds.
"It was more of a shake than what we had on the Fourth. It lasted longer and was more rolling," he said.
The shaking was felt all the way in Las Vegas, much like the earthquake a day earlier.
The NBA Summer League game between the New Orleans Pelicans and the New York Knicks in Las Vegas was delayed Friday following reports of the quake. Scoreboards and speakers near the ceiling of the arena shook when the earthquake hit.
Public safety units are being deployed throughout the city " to ensure safety and inspect infrastructure," Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti said.
Noted seismologist Lucy Jones said Friday both earthquakes are part of an ongoing sequence, of a "very energetic system."
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