Pasadena Unscathed as Ridgecrest-Area Quakes Keep Coming, 5.4 Shaker Strikes Friday Morning

With hundreds of aftershocks near Ridgecrest, Calif. including a magnitude 5.4 jolter at 4:07 a.m. this morning, City officials said there has been no damage reported in Pasadena.

Concerns Thursday after the initial 6.4 shaker led to an examination of the Rose Bowl by a City engineer prior to the traditional AmericaFest fireworks show. The stadium was declared safe and tens of thousands attended the Thursday night event without any earthquake-related incidents.

Yesterday’s temblor struck about five and a half miles deep and was centered near Searles Valley or Ridgecrest, Dr. Jen Andrews, staff seismologist at the Caltech Seismology Laboratory told Pasadena Now.

“And there’s always a small chance in Southern California that this is again, a foreshock to an even larger main shock,” Andrews said.

Pasadena Public Information Officer Lisa Derderian said, “There have been numerous aftershocks and they will continue so it’s important to be vigilant and prepared but also enjoy this Independence Day.”

Derderian also said the shaker is a reminder for residents to practice disaster plans at home and work and know the plans in place at your child’s school.

Even though there was no damage, Andrews cautioned that with an earthquake of this size, there is always a chance that it could trigger other faults nearby if they were ready to fail. She said Caltech will be monitoring the situation.

Andrews pointed out that, “There’s always a chance. So we’re working that out based on sort of the statistics of what we see in the past catalog and how the Earth behaves. So it is a small chance, about one in 20 or 5%, we say that this could be a precursor to something larger, but it’s just good to be aware.”

Her advice is to, “be prepared for aftershocks in the next hours or days, that’s definitely to be expected. And then just all the general preparedness advice. So if we say it could trigger something else to go if, if another fault nearby is ready. So be prepared, have your water, have your food, have your communications plan with your family. Other than that, enjoy the 4th of July.”

Derderian continued, “Fortunately [Thursday was] a holiday where families are home and less people are on the roads at school or at work. Our fire stations have checked their respective districts are no damage has been reported.”