5.2-magnitude quake shakes Southern California, tumbling rocks onto
roads and items off shelves
[April 15, 2025]
By JULIE WATSON
SAN DIEGO (AP) — A 5.2-magnitude earthquake shook Southern California on
Monday morning, sending boulders tumbling onto rural roadways outside
San Diego, items rattling off shelves and elephants at the San Diego Zoo
Safari Park scrambling to encircle their young. Officials reported no
injuries or major damage.
The quake, according to the U.S. Geological Survey, struck at 10:08 a.m.
local time, and was centered in San Diego County only a couple miles (4
kilometers) from Julian, a mountain town of about 1,500 people that is
known for its apple pie shops. It was felt as far north as Los Angeles
County, about 120 miles (193 kilometers) away. The quake was followed by
several aftershocks.
“I thought the single-pane windows were going to crack because they were
shaking pretty good, but they didn’t,” said Paul Nelson, owner of a
former gold mine that operated in the 1870s in Julian.
He said some picture frames on the counter at the gift shop fell over at
the Eagle Mining Co., but the tunnels that tourists can explore suffered
no damage. On Sunday, Nelson said a smaller quake hit when about two
dozen visitors were touring the defunct mine but everyone stayed calm.
No one was inside the old mine when Monday’s temblor rocked the ground
for a longer time.
Transportation officials warned motorists to watch out for rocks that
tumbled down hillsides and onto roads and highways, including State
Route 76 northwest of Julian. Crews were assessing roadways for
potential damage, the California Department of Transportation in San
Diego County said.
At the San Diego Zoo Safari Park, a herd of African elephants was caught
on video running over to protect their young by encircling them during
the quake. Elephants have the ability to feel sound through their feet,
and the behavior is known as an “alert circle." The herd consisting of
Ndlula, Umngani, Khosi, and youngsters Zuli and Mkhaya, appeared to
relax after several minutes, the park said.
North County Transit District trains were delayed so crews could inspect
the tracks for any potential damage, spokesperson Mary Dover said in an
email to The Associated Press.
Schoolchildren were escorted outside of buildings as a precaution when
the ground started moving, said Capt. Thomas Shoots of the California
Department of Forestry and Fire Protection for San Diego County. He got
a shake alert and then started feeling things rolling and banging.
“There was a lot of shaking and rattling around,” he said. “But
thankfully everything seems to be back to normal.”
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Tracy Turner, owner of the Wynola Junction, looks over pictures that
fell from shelves when a earthquake hit Monday, April 14, 2025, in
Julian, Calif. (AP Photo/Denis Poroy)
The San Diego County Sheriff’s Department also said they had
received no immediate reports of damage or injuries.
Riley Ozuna, owner of the Julian Cafe & Bakery, said some cups fell
onto the ground at her business. “But everything is OK,” she said.
The quake struck 8.3 miles (13.4 kilometers) deep near the Elsinore
fault zone, one of the busiest seismic areas in California and part
of the famous San Andreas fault system that usually sees at least
one magnitude 4.0 quake every year, according to Lucy Jones, a
veteran seismologist in Southern California.
Jones said the Sunday quake felt in Julian was a 3.5 magnitude
temblor that was a foreshock to Monday’s larger earthquake.
Some San Diego County residents who subscribe to the early warning
system by the USGS called ShakeAlert were notified a second or two
before it was felt Monday.
Others got the notification after the rocking stopped.
Meanwhile, in Michigan, more than 2,000 miles (3,218 kilometers)
away, residents still recovering from a major ice storm also got a
“shake alert” on their wireless devices from the USGS: “Earthquake
Detected! Drop, cover, hold on.”
It was a mistaken reference to the California earthquake. Portable
cell towers from California are being temporarily used in
Vanderbilt, Michigan, while the region tries to rebound from the ice
storm that knocked out power to thousands of people, state police
said.
“It is an odd alert to get in Michigan,” Lt. Ashley Miller said. “It
was just poor timing. We just experienced this ice storm. I’m sure
there were some people on edge.”
___
Associated Press writers Christopher Weber and Jaimie Ding in Los
Angeles and Olga R. Rodriguez in San Francisco and Ed White in
Detroit contributed to this report.
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