An earthquake with a magnitude of 5.6 shook Mendocino County early Wednesday, prompting ShakeAlert notifications throughout Northern California. The tremor occurred at 8:10 a.m. Pacific Time, with its epicenter approximately seven miles north of Redwood Valley, as reported by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). Redwood Valley is a sparsely populated region within inland Mendocino County.
Residents received notifications from ShakeAlert, an early warning system developed by USGS for California, Washington, and Oregon. Shortly after, a preliminary 2.5-magnitude quake potentially an aftershock, was detected in the same vicinity. Additional aftershocks measuring 2.7 and 2.6 occurred roughly an hour later.
ALEX Chehada, the owner of Redwood Valley Market, observed items that had fallen off shelves due to the seismic activity. According to Mendocino County’s Executive Office, injuries have been reported; however, the severity of these injuries remains unclear. Officials confirmed no fatalities have occurred.
Tremors were felt in Sacramento, leading to power outages in Willits, near the quake’s epicenter. PG&E’s outage map showed the disruption began as the earthquake struck, affecting 8,000 customers. PG&E announced there was no damage to its equipment and initiated an emergency response plan to address potential gas and electric hazards. Crews continue to patrol and evaluate damage.
USGS recorded the earthquake at a depth of roughly 5 miles with a yellow impact alert level, indicating a possibility of minor damage. The National Tsunami Warning Center assured there were no tsunami warnings, advisories, watches, or threats from the earthquake’s aftermath.
Employees at Testa Coffee & Wine in Redwood Valley were seen cleaning up following the earthquake. Meanwhile, Fort Bragg’s police department, about 50 miles west of the epicenter along northern California’s coast, reported no damages while monitoring conditions closely. Mendocino County officials reported no significant damage, although assessments are ongoing. Governor Gavin Newsom’s office confirmed he was briefed regarding the situation.
Redwood Valley sits approximately 120 miles north of San Francisco and 140 miles northwest of Sacramento.
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