7.1 magnitude earthquake strikes Ridgecrest area again, shakes Southern California

FALLBROOK - An earthquake originating from the same area that saw a 6.4 magnitude quake on Thursday, struck at 8:19 p.m. Friday, July 5 some four miles from Ridgecrest.

Caltech seismologists confirmed the earthquake's magnitude at 7.1 in a press conference at 9:15 p.m.

At 8:16 p.m. the U.S. Geological Survey said a 5.0 earthquake struck the area, then the 7.1 quake hit three minutes later, followed by a 4.7 magnitude earthquake at 8:22 p.m.

Seismologists from Caltech reported that quakes are extending north along the fault line.

They said an earthquake of this size typically has aftershocks that last for years and the intensity of shaking during the quake was very high.

In the past 10 days, there have been 117 earthquakes of magnitude 3.0 or greater centered in the areas near Ridgecrest.

Seismologists at Caltech said Friday afternoon that Thursday morning's original quake, which had a magnitude of 6.4, actually struck along a pair of faults, one running northwest and one running northeast.

They also said there is a roughly 6 percent chance of another quake of magnitude 6 or greater striking in the area, although they could not give any specific timeline of when such an event could potentially occur.

Seismologist Dr. Lucy Jones said there's a 5% chance of this earthquake being followed by a quake even larger.

City News Service contributed to this report.

Jeff Pack can be reached by email at [email protected].