A third earthquake — with preliminary reports that it measured 7.1 on the Richter scale, centered near Ridgecrest — was felt in Los Angeles County, including the Santa Clarita Valley, one day after a 6.4 temblor that originated in Ridgecrest on Thursday and a 5.4 aftershock was felt early Friday morning.
The quake occurred at about 8:19 p.m. about 11 miles north-northeast from Ridgecrest, according to the Caltech Seismological Laboratory in Pasadena. A 5.5 aftershock, about nine miles east-southeast of Little Lake, was felt at 8:47 p.m.
No damage or injuries were reported to the Los Angeles County Fire Department or the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station. Sgt. Dennis Duarte said the Sheriff’s Station will follow protocol in providing any updates on all circumstances around the Santa Clarita Valley related to the quake.
At Six Flags Magic Mountain, “extensive visual, structural and operational” safety checks were made across the park, according to a tweet on the park’s official Twitter account. At approximately 9:30 p.m., the park resumed normal operations.
Brody De Rebere noticed the quake within seconds while working at a Starbucks in Santa Clarita. He said he started to feel dizzy until he realized the building started to move.
“If it starts to get worse, I need to get people under tables, make sure everybody’s OK, everybody’s safe and then once it starts to mild down a little bit, that’s when I get everybody out,” he said. “It is kind of crazy. It’s starting out of nowhere and keeps on moving.”
So far, damage was reported in San Bernardino County, with 911 calls reporting foundations cracked and homes shifted with one minor injury reported as of 8:54 p.m.
Friday’s morning quake was one of many aftershocks since Thursday’s incident. It struck at about 4:07 a.m. and was centered about 9.9 miles west of Searles Valley, about 11.2 miles north-northeast of Ridgecrest, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
No damage or injuries were reported in the SCV or Los Angeles County, the SCV Sheriff’s Station and L.A. County Fire Department said.
Some residents from various parts of the SCV took to social media to share they’d felt the quake, with some posting that the morning jolt woke them up.
Tammy Murga and Haley Sawyer contributed to the reporting of this story.
