Finally posting the photos from my August 22, 2019 Ridgecrest trip. Part 1, which covers the fault rupture, is finally up. Part 2, which will cover the problems in Poison Canyon and Trona, are coming soon!
Category Archives: Kern County
Featured Image – 8/14/2019
Completed in 1876, this loop still stands as an engineering marvel and a unique way of keeping the grade steady while climbing over the Tehachapi Mountains between Bakersfield and Mojave.
Earthquake UPDATES – Mw 7.1 near Ridgecrest
Well, that was strong! I felt it here in San Diego. First time I felt my building sway and it shook for a while. USGS is now reporting the quake as a Mw 7.1, which is 11 times larger than the one yesterday. This, assuming a larger one doesn’t happen, has also been deemed the “main shock” and the 6.4 was the “fore shock”. USGS and Caltech are a bit slow right now. If you felt this one, please let USGS know once their servers are not slow or not working. They need your help!
From Caltrans and CHP, damage reports are coming in of rockfalls on 178 in Poison Canyon, a sinkhole on 178 near the Trona Pinnacles turnoff, and buckling up to 4 feet as well as large cracks in other areas. Do not drive fast through any of the earthquake affected areas. Also be aware that rockfalls will be likely in all the local mountain ranges, so be careful. State 127 near Ibex Pass is covered with rocks, and that is a fair distance away from the epicenter.
http://scedc.caltech.edu/recent/
Working map of all earthquakes in California and Nevada by Caltech. Links to USGS as well on the page.
USGS site now working!
https://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eventpage/ci38457511/executive
M 6.4 near Searles Lake, CA
At 10:33 am this morning, July 4, 2019, there was a Mw 6.4 earthquake centered a few miles northeast of Ridgecrest, California. The focus of the earthquake was mid-range in depth, about 10.7 km deep. So far, there have been numerous aftershocks ranging up to M 4.7 in size at the time of this writing. The earthquake is the largest to strike southern California in some time. The area to the northwest of the epicenter has been subject to earthquake swarms in the past as well, though usually only up to the M 5.0 range in size.
https://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eventpage/ci38443183/executive
USGS summary of the earthquake
Due to the size of the earthquake, I would expect there to be a fair amount of damage to buildings in the Searles Lake, Trona, Pioneer Point, Ridgecrest, and Inyokern areas. If you live in any of these areas, let the USGS know about what happened. Your information is greatly appreciated and will help them better understand the effects of earthquakes.
https://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eventpage/ci38443183/dyfi/intensity
Did you feel it? Report it to the USGS here!
Adopt-A-Highway Cleanup
Well, it has been a while but I finally made it back up to Grapevine Canyon for a more formal cleanup. I, and two others, cleaned up the upper and lower water stops along I-5 in Grapevine Canyon on Saturday, June 29, 2019. We filled nine bags and found many interesting items including a printer/copier. Next cleanup should be in early September most likely.
