5.0 Aftershock Rattles Landers, but Causes No Damage

A magnitude 5.0 aftershock rattled residents of Landers and the surrounding Morongo Basin desert region Thursday morning, unnerving even veterans of the powerful 1992 earthquake but prompting no reports of injuries or damage.

“It wasn’t like the one before but I was beginning to wonder because it was starting to wind up,” said Tina Stockman, who with her husband owns the Grubstake restaurant in Landers.

“It was rockin’ and rollin’ and the lights were swinging and pictures and knickknacks were falling off the walls,” she said. “I got that feeling in the pit of the stomach where you wonder, ‘Oh no, not again.’ ”

Emergency response agencies said they received no reports of injuries or damage.

“I was in the cab of our engine and it felt like someone was on the back, jumping up and down,” said Steve Ruddell of the California Department of Forestry station in Landers.

Even though there were reports that the aftershock was felt as far away as Los Angeles, 70 miles to the west, Helen Thompson said she was at the market in nearby Yucca Valley and did not feel the shaking.

“The gal at the check stand mentioned it so I went home (to Landers). A couple of my drawers opened and some things fell off the tables, but there was no damage,” she said.

At the Grubstake, Stockman said the movement came quick and hard. Based on Caltech reports that the epicenter was 10 miles north of Yucca Valley, Stockman figured it might have come directly below her restaurant.

“There was no buildup,” she said. “It just hit, boom, right there. And that’s the part that scares you most.”

The 1992 earthquake at Landers was a magnitude 7.6--the largest to have struck California in 40 years. It was followed later that morning by a magnitude 6.7 quake at Big Bear.

Combined, the two San Bernardino County earthquakes killed a young boy, injured 400 people and damaged more than 4,000 homes and businesses.

Caltech spokeswoman Kate Hutton said Thursday’s aftershock at Landers was the strongest this year--and one of an estimated 45,000 that have struck the region since 1992.

Landers Aftershock

A magnitude 5.0 aftershock rattled residents of Landers and the surrounding Morongo Basin desert region Thursday morning. It was centered 10 miles north of Yucca Valley. There were no reports of injuries or damage.