The earthquake was felt as far away as Los Angeles to the south and San Francisco to the north.An aftershock of 4.7 magnitude was probably the shudder that Santa Paulans felt about nine minutes after the major quake.Other aftershocks – up to a dozen were reported by noon – ranging from 2.5 magnitude to over 4.0 magnitude continued to strike the area surrounding San Simeon and Cambria in the half-hour following the initial 6.5 trembler.According to the Cal-Tech earthquake web site the quake broke about five miles below the surface, lessening its force as it reached ground level.The earthquake struck the Central Coast less than two weeks before the 10th anniversary of the Jan. 4, 1994 massive Northridge Earthquake that killed dozens of people and created billions of dollars in damage throughout Southern California.Although neighboring Fillmore was heavily damaged by the Northridge Earthquake, Santa Paula only received minor damage confined mostly to chimneys damaged during the trembler that tumbled down following a large aftershock two days later.
Central Coast quake felt, phones interrupted following trembler
December 24, 2003
Santa Paula News
First it was a long - but gentle - roll, followed a few minutes later by a slight shudder, but any way you felt it there was a pre-Christmas earthquake centered in the Central Coast area that rumbled out in all directions.
By Peggy KellySanta Paula TimesFirst it was a long - but gentle - roll, followed a few minutes later by a slight shudder, but any way you felt it there was a pre-Christmas earthquake centered in the Central Coast area that rumbled out in all directions.Phone service was interrupted by momentary spurts in Santa Paula after the 6.5 magnitude earthquake struck at about 11:16 a.m. Monday morning.The earthquake was centered near Hearst’s Castle with the epicenter about 6.5 miles northeast of San Simeon and the small coastal village of Cambria.Details were scarce at press time Monday but damage from the deep-seated earthquake was reported from San Luis Obispo to Cambria.Reports of at least one death in San Luis Obispo and minor injuries from flying objects were also being reported.
