Questions Roll in Over Mysterious Shake, Rattle

Some thought it might be a minor earthquake. Others called it a sonic boom. Still others speculated that Stealth bomber tests shook windows all across San Diego County Friday.

Although the county’s Disaster Preparedness Center ruled out earthquakes, no one else could pinpoint the cause of the minor tremors that were reported from noon through sundown.

The center did say, though, that it had received several calls from inquiring people.

San Diego police too said they received some calls. Their communications office attributed the shaking to “sonic booms” but did not speculate on the source.

The San Diego Fire Department also reported receiving calls about shaking windows from Mission Valley, Grossmont and downtown, but could not determine the source.

A spokesman at Camp Pendleton, however, said that reservists had been firing sizable amounts of artillery from 150-millimeter howitzers since dawn Friday, when they began five days of exercises.

The spokesman said the reservists will be firing 600 rounds of ammunition daily, except Sunday, between dawn and dusk.

The spokesman said he did not know if the artillery caused the reported shaking but that inquiries were coming to the base from as far away as Chula Vista.