California struck by powerful EARTHQUAKE as wildfires rage
A POWERFUL earthquake has struck California as the state struggles to cope with devastating wildfires.
By Rachel O’Donoghue
DailyStar.co.uk
14th October 2017
The 4.0-magnitude quake hit Mendocino County in northern California, the US Geological Survey said.
The epicentre was 10 miles north of Ukiah – an area that has been scorched by the huge wildfires that swept through the state.
It is not yet clear if it has caused any damage.
Residents immediately took to Twitter to describe feeling the tremors.
One person wrote: “I live in Ukiah and it was a pretty good jolt sliding side-to-side as opposed to a rolling quake. Just one thing after another up here.”
Another posted: “Friend just called me here in Ukiah, they live in Redwood Valley in a good area, no fires near their home, but the earthquake was hard there.”
It comes as the US state has been hit by deadly wildfires that have killed dozens, as well as prompted mass evacuations and destroyed thousands of homes.
California is on the San Andreas fault line, an 800-mile fissure that runs almost the length of the state.
Scientists agree that large swathes of southern California – including Los Angeles and San Diego – are long overdue a “Big One” earthquake of magnitude 7 or more.
Although scientists have been studying earthquakes for decades, there is still no reliable method of accurately predicting the timing of a major tremor.
The biggest ever earthquake to strike the region in the 20th century was in 1906 off the coast of northern California.
As a result, more than 3,000 people died and 80% of San Francisco was destroyed.
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