Rural area in Northern California jolted by its biggest quake since 1940
[June 25, 2026]
By OLGA R. RODRIGUEZ and CHRISTOPHER WEBER
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A rural area of Northern California experienced its
strongest earthquake since 1940 on Wednesday morning, causing some
injuries but no immediate reports of major damage, officials said.
The epicenter of the quake, with a preliminary magnitude of 5.6, was
about 7 miles (12 kilometers) northwest of the agricultural town of
Willits, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. It was widely felt,
including in the coastal city of Fort Bragg. The initial quake was
centered inland about 50 miles (80 kilometers) east of Fort Bragg at
8:10 a.m. PT, and the USGS said it was about 5 miles (8 kilometers)
deep.
The area in Mendocino County dotted with small, agricultural towns is
140 miles (225 kilometers) northeast of San Francisco.
Heather Rose, a Mendocino County spokesperson, said that hospitals had
reported some injuries but that she had no details on their nature or
extent. She said officials plan to meet later Wednesday when more
information could be released.
Power outages are affecting more than 6,000 residents of six towns near
the epicenter, the Mendocino County Executive Office said in a
statement. The office encouraged people to stay off the highways and
roads to allow work crews to inspect for damage and make repairs.
Brie Leon and her colleagues had just opened Club Calpella Restaurant
when the building started shaking, rattling plates and liquor bottles.
“I had just turned the open sign on and went back into the kitchen, and
that’s when it happened,” she said. “It almost felt like something hit
the building.”
The restaurant is in Calpella, California, a town about 10 miles (16
kilometers) south of the epicenter and in a region of Mendocino County
that has been struck by smaller quakes this year.
This was the biggest earthquake in nearly nine decades in the region,
which is not on a major fault, said Lucy Jones, a veteran California
seismologist.
“The area is not without earthquakes, but they’re usually smaller than
this,” Jones said. She added that aftershocks are likely, but they’ll
“probably stay on the low side.”
Three other quakes under a 2.7 magnitude struck near the epicenter
within an hour.
Leon said the quake knocked frames off the walls and bottles off the
shelves in the restaurant and the stockroom next door. She and other
servers were cleaning up not long after to welcome customers for
breakfast.
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Redwood Valley Market owner Alex Chehada looks at items which fell
off the shelves after an earthquake in Redwood Valley, Calif.,
Wednesday, June 24, 2026. (Kent Porter/The Press Democrat via AP)
“It wasn’t a big, big quake, but things went everywhere,” she said.
Alan Harris and his family were at home in Kelseyville, about 40
miles (64 kilometers) southeast of the epicenter, when he received
an earthquake alert on his cellphone. Soon after, the house began
shaking.
“I yelled downstairs immediately to my wife and daughter to make
sure they were hanging on,” Harris said. “It was scary. You could
hear things crashing, mostly on the third floor of the house.”
A security camera inside Harris’ home shook vigorously as the quake
struck. A few loud, crashing sounds can be heard on the video
footage before Harris calls out: “Is everyone OK?”
It lasted only about 30 seconds. Framed photos fell off the walls
and a computer monitor was knocked over, Harris said. Nothing
appeared badly damaged, he added, noting he found no structural
damage to the house.
Nearly 657,000 earthquake early warning alerts were sent by the
MyShake App throughout Northern California, the California
Governor’s Office of Emergency Services said. Cal OES had not
received any reports of damage or injuries, but it was coordinating
with authorities to evaluate impacts, the office said in a
statement.
Hundreds of thousands more people received alerts through other
public safety alert systems, but those numbers have not been
finalized, said Robert de Groot, a scientist with the ShakeAlert
operations team.
“The alert deliveries for this are going to be well over a million,”
Groot said.
___
Weber reported from Los Angeles. Associated Press writer Russ Bynum
contributed from Savannah, Georgia.
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