A preliminary 5.2-Size The earthquake occurred near Bakersfield and its tremors reached as far as Los Angeles County.

It happened around 9:09 p.m., about 14 miles southwest of Lamont, California, which borders Bakersfield. It’s a relatively rural area about 90 miles north of downtown Los Angeles.

Immediately after the earthquake, the Los Angeles Fire Department deployed its helicopters to survey the area for possible damage.

“Our @LAFD has begun its routine survey of the city and assessing any damage,” Mayor Karen Bass posted on X. “City crews will continue to monitor any impacts.”

After investigation, firefighters found no significant damage to infrastructure or buildings. The LAFD received no reports of injuries within LA city limits.

According to the USGS, geologists believe there is little to no risk of landslides or liquefaction in the region.

Aftershocks

The original quake was followed by more than two dozen earthquakes with magnitudes ranging from 2.5 to 4.5. The aftershocks occurred near Lamont and Grapevine. About 25% of aftershocks occur within an hour of the original quake.

The USGS recorded three aftershocks with a magnitude greater than 4.0. The vast majority of aftershocks, about 15, were below magnitude 3.0. About nine more earthquakes with magnitudes 3.0 to 3.8 struck the region shortly after the first quake.

“This is quite an active sequence for this very short period of time since the event,” said seismologist Dr. Lucy Jones.

She said the aftershocks were within the range of a typical series of earthquakes.

Cal Tech seismologists comment

The United States Geological Survey has released a map showing the intensity of the quake in the regions surrounding Lamont. According to the map, the quake was mild in LA County, but between light and moderate near the epicenter in Lamont.

Allen Husker, a professor of seismology at the California Institute of Technology, attributed the LA tremors to the basin effect. Basins tend to amplify tremors due to their softer texture.

Jones said the earthquake originated at the southern end of the Central Valley, near the epicenter of a magnitude 7.5 earthquake that struck the region in 1952.

“However, it does not appear to be on the same fault as the earthquake,” she added. “It does not appear that this (recent) earthquake is associated with a known fault.”

Jones believes there is a 5% chance that the magnitude 5.2 earthquake was a foreshock, like any other earthquake in California. There is no indication that this event is any different.

“As far as the probability of it being a foreshock, we have the same answer for any earthquake: It’s about 5 percent,” she said. “1 in 20 earthquakes in Southern California are followed within the next few days by something larger that turns out to be a foreshock.”

The risk that earthquakes are foreshocks decreases dramatically over time.

“A quarter of all foreshocks occur within an hour of the mainshock,” Jones said. “By three days later … the risk has virtually disappeared.”