Jittery Big Bear Residents Assess the Latest Damage

Jittery Big Bear residents, unnerved anew after a series of earthquake aftershocks in recent days, were assessing the latest damage Thursday and voicing hopes that the jolts would subside.

“People are pretty much on edge,” said John Smiley, chief executive officer of Bear Valley Community Hospital, where 15 people, including two suffering from chest pains, were treated after Wednesday’s magnitude 5.4 aftershock.

Most of those treated suffered minor cuts and bruises or were experiencing elevated levels of anxiety, Smiley said.

The magnitude 5.4 aftershock, followed by a series of less powerful temblors that stretched into Thursday, further damaged homes, businesses, water lines and power facilities in the quake-weary mountain community, undermining building foundations, toppling fireplaces and knocking mobile homes off their moorings, authorities said. Aftershock damage was concentrated in the Sugar Loaf and Big Bear City areas on the east side of Big Bear Lake.

However, authorities said initial reports were erroneous that Wednesday’s big aftershock sparked several fires in the Big Bear area. There was no significant interruption of water service, though some water lines were damaged, officials said.

The aftershocks, including a magnitude 3.9 at 7:41 p.m. Thursday, prompted no new reports of damage from the High Desert area around Yucca Valley and Landers, which is recovering from a magnitude 7.4 quake June 28, the largest to hit California in four decades. A magnitude 6.5 quake at Big Bear occurred a few hours later, apparently triggered by the first.

The Big Bear quake and its aftershocks have probably damaged about a quarter of the 11,000 buildings in the region’s unincorporated areas, said Fred Norton, director of building and safety for San Bernardino County.