A 5.6-magnitude earthquake struck Mendocino County on Wednesday morning, activating ShakeAlert notifications across Northern California.
The quake occurred at 8:10 a.m. Pacific Time. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, its epicenter was situated approximately seven miles north of Redwood Valley, a sparsely populated region of inland Mendocino County. Residents received alerts via ShakeAlert, a USGS early warning system utilized in California, Washington, and Oregon.
USGS also reported a preliminary 2.5-magnitude quake at the same location about seven minutes later, potentially an aftershock. Two further aftershocks, measuring 2.7 and 2.6, followed about an hour later.
In Redwood Valley, items fell off shelves at local businesses, including Redwood Valley Market, as documented by Kent Porter from The Press Democrat via AP.
Some injuries have been reported, the Mendocino County Executive Office stated. Officials confirmed there were no fatalities, though the extent of injuries was uncertain.
The earthquake’s tremors reached as far as Sacramento. Power outages were experienced in Willits, near the quake’s epicenter. PG&E reported the outage impacted around 8,000 customers, beginning simultaneously with the earthquake.
No damage to PG&E equipment was recorded, yet their emergency response plan was activated to address gas and electric hazards. The company continued to monitor and assess any damage.
The earthquake’s depth was determined to be about 5 miles. Its impact alert level was categorized as yellow, indicating potential damage.
The National Tsunami Warning Center clarified there was no tsunami warning, advisory, watch, or threat issued due to the earthquake.
In Fort Bragg, located roughly 50 miles west of the epicenter on California’s North Coast, police confirmed ongoing monitoring but reported no damages. Mendocino County announced no significant damage had been detected, though assessments continued.
California Governor Gavin Newsom’s office confirmed the governor had been briefed on the incident.
Redwood Valley is situated about 120 miles north of San Francisco and around 140 miles northwest of Sacramento.
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