5.1 Earthquake Jolts Big Bear Lake Area

A magnitude 5.1 earthquake centered four miles northwest of Big Bear Lake in the San Bernardino Mountains rattled much of Southern California on Saturday, but damage was limited to a few fragile items on store shelves near the epicenter.

The earthquake struck the mountain community at 1:05 p.m, according to Joe Franck, a seismologist at Caltech in Pasadena. The temblor was felt as far away as downtown Los Angeles, about 100 miles to the west, and San Diego, about 140 miles south.

A few car alarms sounded in the snow-covered San Bernardino County community, but there were no reports of injuries, said Sheriff’s Sgt. Tom Bradford, watch commander at the Big Bear Lake station.

“We felt one sharp jolt,” said Capt. Richard Flint of the Big Bear Lake Fire Department. “It lasted just a few seconds. It was insignificant compared to the 1992 quake.”

A magnitude 6.5 temblor struck the Big Bear area on the morning of June 28, 1992. That quake, along with the magnitude 7.3 Landers quake earlier that day, resulted in one death, more than 400 injuries and nearly $100 million in damage. Franck said Saturday’s temblor was unrelated to those events.

Damage this time was minor at Big Bear Mercantile, which on Saturday was full of visitors lured by the resort area’s fresh snow.

“We had a good jolt. A few little items--wine glasses and some pictures--fell, but nothing major,” said Bonnie Streeter, the shop’s manager. “The store was full of people. They stepped into the center of the building when it began to rattle. It lasted five to six seconds.”

Merchandise wobbled on the shelves of the Stater Brothers market, but there was no damage, employees said.

The Big Bear area was jostled by at least a dozen aftershocks throughout Saturday, including one of 4.2 magnitude at 4:39 p.m. There is a 50% chance of an aftershock of magnitude 4.0 or greater occurring in the same area within a week, seismologists said.

Franck said the quake was unrelated to a magnitude-3.9 temblor that struck at 9:50 a.m. Saturday eight miles northeast of the desert community of Indio.