The State : Advisory Ends, and No Quake

An advisory that there was a slightly increased chance of an earthquake in Northern California ended without a major temblor, although authorities said the overall risk had not vanished. “There are a number of active faults in the San Francisco Bay Area which pose a clear, long-term seismic hazard, and that a damaging earthquake could occur there at any time,” the California Office of Emergency Services said in a statement. The OES notified emergency service agencies in Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Monterey and San Benito counties last Tuesday that there was a slightly increased likelihood of a temblor measuring as high as 6.5 in the Santa Cruz Mountains area south of San Jose. The advisory was issued because scientists believed additional stress had been placed on a portion of the San Andreas Fault by a moderate quake that jolted the Bay Area on June 27. OES spokesman Mike Guerin said at the time that the advisory should not be cause for alarm, and local authorities said the advisory was largely ignored by residents.