Aftershocks Register Fear : Owens Valley Families Are Still Quaking

Gary and Karen Graves moved here four months ago seeking small-town values and rugged natural beauty in which to raise their three small boys.

“It was a mountain paradise to build our dreams on,” said Karen Graves, 34. “But a 6.1 earthquake and aftershocks ended all that.”

Frightened by almost-daily aftershocks that have made the Owens Valley seem like a “growling stomach that never gets fed,” she and the children left town two weeks ago to stay with relatives in Fresno.

“If my wife came back she’d be in constant fear of it happening again,” said Gary Graves, 29, who stayed behind with his job managing a coffee shop. “So we are seriously thinking of moving.”

The Graves family is one of many here that have had a hard time coping with aftershocks that U.S. Geological Survey seismologists say may continue for perhaps months to come.

Thousands of Aftershocks

Since the quake of July 21, which registered 6.1 on the Richter scale and caused an estimated $2.7 million in damage, there have been several thousand aftershocks in the region, including 150 above 3.0, 20 above 4.0 and three above 5.0, seismologists said.

David Hill, a USGS seismologist, said Thursday that Bishop’s aftershocks seemed to be diminishing, although as recently as Wednesday night there was a 3.3.

“There is still the possibility of feeling a few 3.0s in the months ahead,” Hill said.

Although local officials point out that the vast majority of Bishop’s 3,500 residents are adjusting, they also acknowledge that a significant number are suffering from “seismic stress.”

“Citizens are nervous and want to know how long this will go on,” Inyo County Sheriff Don Dorsey said. “It’s like putting up with a barking dog umpteen hours until you finally get fed up with it.”

Belem Rael, 39, for one, is literally sick and tired of aftershocks.

‘I Head for a Tranquilizer’

“Every time I feel the house shake I head for a tranquilizer,” said Rael, who moved here with her husband and two children from Colorado about three years ago. “Lately, I’ve been eating them like candy.

“We’re moving back to Colorado in October because I can’t stand it anymore. I love California but these aftershocks are killing me.”

The stress and anxiety extends to children, some of whom have replaced old fears of movie monsters with new ones related to earthquakes.

“Instead of being afraid of King Kong, my kids are terrified of the big bad earthquake,” Vickie Smith, 30, said. “They are worried we are going to fall into a hole.”

“My 18-month-old daughter screams and cries after each one,” Ann Burnett, 19, said. “She tells me they bite.”

Throughout the community, “people are somewhat on edge,” said Rick Gagnon, administrator of the Inyo County Health Department. “But we have to come to grips with the fact that the temblors probably won’t stop and that we have to learn to live with them.”

Lynna Walker, psychiatric nurse at Northern Inyo Hospital, added that “most people here are learning to adjust to the problem peculiar to their area--just as people in New Orleans learn to live with the risk of hurricanes.”

Indeed, until the ground stops shaking, many residents are keeping their televisions, stereos and wall hangings on the floor and cupboard doors tied shut. Some keep a pair of shoes near the bed at night in case they have to step over broken glass.

A few, fearing that any one of the temblors could signal another major quake, have stockpiled emergency supplies.