Gov. Newsom visits Ridgecrest after declaring state of emergency in wake of 7.1 quake

Jul. 6--Governor Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency for San Bernardino County in the wake of a magnitude 7.1 earthquake on Friday night and followed it up Saturday with a trip to Ridgecrest, where the powerful temblor struck.

As of Saturday afternoon, no major injuries or structure collapses were announced, according to state and local officials.

But many more earthquakes are expected, Caltech scientists said. As of Saturday, here have been 2,600 aftershocks since the magnitude 6.4 earthquake that hit in the same area on July 4. Eventually, the sequence of quakes could generate over 30,000 temblors, said Egill Hauksson of Caltech.

There's a 27% chance of a magnitude 6 quake in the next week, and a 3% chance of a magnitude 7 or above in the Ridgecrest area, Hauksson said.

Newsom met with Ridgecrest leaders and held a news conference, thanking first responders and officials for their work. He said he had spoken just minutes ago with President Trump, who pledged his support. "I have all the confidence in the world the president will be forthcoming," Newsom said.

The governor compared Ridgecrest to San Francisco rising from the ashes of the 1906 earthquake. "That resiliency , that same level of commitment is demonstrable when you walk around this community," he said.

Los Angeles County Fire Department's Urban Search and Rescue Team 136 and Hazardous Materials Team 811 were sent to the Ridecrest area Friday night. A heavy rescue apparatus and urban search and rescue support vehicle with six firefighters also headed to areas that felt the brunt of the quake, according to the Orange County Fire Authority.

The Mount Vernon bridge was closed to all pedestrian and vehicle traffic until a thorough inspection can be completed, San Bernardino officials announced Saturday.

San Bernardino first responders on Friday reported 911 calls coming in from northwest communities in the county, with homes shifted, foundation cracks and retaining walls down.

Numerous gas leaks were detected in the Trona and Argus areas, according to San Bernardino Fire authorities. Firefighters secured leaks where possible and evacuated residents from homes where the leaks could not be secured, the agency announced.

The Ridgecrest Police Department on Saturday sent out a plea for Trona, saying the community is in "serious need of water." Police urged anyone able to bring a case, boxed or wrapped, to the Ridgecrest Police Department, so it could deliver water to Trona in a trailer.

Trona, a tiny unincorporated community on Death Valley's southwestern border, is 170 miles northeast of Los Angeles and an hour and a half north of the High Desert community of Adelanto.

A state of emergency helps to get resources in play more quickly and allows counties to recover some of their expenses when disasters strike.

Officials were still inspecting gas lines on Saturday morning but announced at a news conference that roads in the affected areas were repaired and rock slides cleared.

The quake that hit Friday at 8:19 p.m. in rural Kern County shook Southern California, damaging roadways and causing an unknown number of injuries and structure fires. It was the second large quake to rattle the region in two days and was centered roughly 11 miles northeast of Ridgecrest, near where Thursday's 6.4 magnitude quake hit, the USGS said.

About 163 people sought shelter and aid at the Kerr McGee Community Center in Ridgecrest, the Red Cross reported on Saturday morning.

Several injuries and multiple structure fires were reported in the Ridgecrest area, state officials said late Friday night. But officials on Saturday morning said there were no fatalities or major injuries. Nor were any major structure collapses reported, they said.

Lucy Jones, a seismologist with the Unites States Geological Survey, said the USGS has reclassified Thursday's earthquake as a foreshock, since Friday night's earthquake was larger in magnitude.

"It will be ongoing," Jones said. "It is clearly a very energetic sequence, so there's no reason to think we can't have more (earthquakes)."

On Friday, scientists at Caltech said there were 1,400 aftershocks as of mid-afternoon, including a 5.4 magnitude quake that struck at about 4 a.m.

"Prepare yourself for the next week to two weeks, this isn't going to stop in the near future," Ridgecrest police Chief Jed McLaughlin told residents late Friday night.

Ridgecrest has been active since the 1930s, Hauksson said. "Ridgecrest was known as the earthquake capital of the world, because of all the small earthquakes," he said.

There were numerous reports of the quake being felt throughout Southern California, and beyond.

This story is developing. Please check back for updates.

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