5.6-Magnitude Earthquake Strikes Mendocino County

On Wednesday morning, a 5.6-magnitude earthquake impacted Mendocino County, triggering ShakeAlert notifications across Northern California. The quake occurred at 8:10 a.m. Pacific Time, approximately seven miles north of Redwood Valley, a sparsely populated area in inland Mendocino County, according to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS).

Residents received notifications from ShakeAlert, a USGS early warning system for California, Washington, and Oregon. Shortly after, a preliminary 2.5-magnitude earthquake, potentially an aftershock, was reported in the same area. Additional aftershocks, registering at magnitudes of 2.7 and 2.6, followed about an hour later.

Reports from the Mendocino County Executive Office indicated some injuries, though the extent remained unknown. Fortunately, no deaths have been confirmed. The shaking was detected as far as Sacramento, and power outages occurred in Willits, near the epicenter. Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) stated the outages began concurrently with the earthquake, affecting around 8,000 customers.

PG&E reported no damage to its equipment but activated its emergency response plan to handle potential gas and electric hazards. The company will continue to assess potential damage in the area. USGS identified the quake’s depth at five miles and listed its impact alert level as yellow, suggesting possible damage.

The National Tsunami Warning Center confirmed there was no tsunami warning, advisory, watch, or threat resulting from the earthquake. Fort Bragg police, located approximately 50 miles west of the epicenter, stated they were monitoring the situation, with no damage reported in that area.

Mendocino County officials are not aware of any major damages but are continuing to evaluate the region. California Governor Gavin Newsom has been briefed on the event. Redwood Valley is situated about 120 miles north of San Francisco and roughly 140 miles northwest of Sacramento.