On January 5th, the Los Angeles and San Bernardino Counties were affected by a magnitude 4.2 earthquake near the San Gabriel Mountains. Originating at one kilometer westward of Lytle Creek, the shaking was felt as far away as Long Beach. The cause of this was a series of earthquakes ranging between magnitudes two and four that had been occurring across the San Andreas Fault throughout the past few weeks. This comes five decades after an earthquake of similar origin and magnitude.

At 10:55 am PST, the earthquake struck between the San Andreas and San Jacinto Faults, approximately 9.1 kilometers (5.7 miles) underground. It was felt as a light shaking across Los Angeles County, with smaller shocks being felt across San Bernardino County and even reaching as far south as San Diego County. Fortunately, the earthquake caused no major damage. Initial United States Geological Survey (USGS) calculations labeled the earthquake with a 4.6 magnitude, but this would later be downgraded to a 4.2 magnitude.

This earthquake comes after a 4.1 magnitude earthquake struck the Los Angeles coast a week prior, and a 4.2 magnitude earthquake from the same location that struck over five decades ago. The days before and after the earthquake also experienced multiple other earthquakes ranging between magnitudes two and four, with the largest being a magnitude 4.4 earthquake near the San Diego coast on January 15th. The ordeal comes as a reminder that California has been long overdue for the “Big One” – a predicted earthquake that hasn’t struck in over 300 years – a reminder shared by the new 2024 USGS National Seismic Hazard Model that puts California at a 95% risk of experiencing a large damaging earthquake within the next century.