Earthquake rumbles in mountainous area of San Joaquin Valley, shakes felt as far as Fresno
As if wildfires weren’t enough to deal with in the mountain communities of the San Joaquin Valley, an earthquake reportedly was felt in some mountainous areas late Tuesday night.
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) reported a 3.1-magnitude earthquake rattled some time around 10 p.m. about 11 1/2 miles southwest of Mariposa.
The USGS received 145 responses confirming that the earthquake was felt, with many reports of light to weak shaking coming from the mountain areas of Madera and Mariposa counties, including in Oakhurst and North Fork.
Some on Facebook described the shakes as rolling “through the whole house” and “rumbling, sounded like a truck coming up the driveway.”
Weak shaking was reportedly felt as far as northern Fresno, according to the USGS Community Intensity map.
Despite the unexpected shaking, no damage was reported.
A rare 3.1 earthquake happened this evening SSW of Mariposa, SE of Merced, at around 9:38 pm PT. It felt like someone was behind my couch (which is against the wall), and kicked it. Hopefully we won’t have a bigger one soon. We’re in Coarsegold. Don’t have Earthquake Insurance. pic.twitter.com/RNNDEkFZrz
— Cass Crowley (@Cass_557) October 5, 2022
Even though Tuesday’s earthquake turned out to be more of just a brief scare, the mountain areas of the San Joaquin Valley have endured rough times of late with natural disaster threats.
The Oak Fire ravaged parts of Mariposa County and in proximity to Yosemite from late July to most of August, destroying 193 structures and causing injury to three people as the wildfire grew to 19,244 acres.
Then just last month, the Fork Fire broke out in North Fork and destroyed 43 structures and caused one injury.
