Earthquake Rocks Los Angeles Area on Fourth of July

By Pat Saperstein

LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – UPDATED: The strongest earthquake in several years swayed the greater Los Angeles area on Thursday morning. The long, rolling quake measured 6.4 in magnitude and was centered in the remote Searles Valley area near Ridgecrest in San Bernardino County, over a hundred miles away from Los Angeles.

The moderately large shaker was felt over a wide area from Orange County to Las Vegas. A number of smaller aftershocks were not felt outside the immediate area. The temblor was initially reported as measuring 6.6 but was soon downgraded 6.4, still making it the largest in the area since the devastating 6.6 Northridge quake in 1994. However, the Northridge quake caused extensive damage as it was centered directly under the city.

In Los Angeles, the DWP reported a broken water main at Wilshire and La Jolla and several scattered power outages. In the Ridgecrest area, damage was more serious, and the Ridgecrest hospital is under evacuation due to possible damage. There were also rockslides, fires and damage to stores and houses in the area.

The Los Angeles Fire Department tweeted that it is in earthquake mode and assessing if there is any damage throughout the city. LAX airport reported that operations are proceeding as normal with no damage.

Hollywood figures were unsettled by the quake, with several tweeting it was the longest they had felt. Some were really caught off-guard — Gabrielle Union reported she was in the restroom when it happened. It has been relatively quiet on the seismic front for several years in Los Angeles.