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Update: Earthquake rocks Eureka, damage widespread
The Times-Standard
Posted: 01/09/2010 06:21:08 PM PST
Updated: 01/09/2010 08:10:49 PM PST
A 6.5 magnitude earthquake struck Eureka at around 4:30 p.m. Saturday, leaving much of the city without power and police scanners buzzing with reports of damage and injuries.
The quake, which lasted for around 30 seconds, had power poles waving back and forth along Eureka streets and brought panicked residents out of their homes.
The Bayshore Mall, as of 5:30 p.m., had been closed off to customers and employees. It was unclear how many people were injured there, but one employee reported that several people were picked up by ambulances.
Employees also reported light fixtures falling out of the ceiling and floor tiles popping up off the ground. Another employee reported seeing chunks of the ceiling fall onto customers.
Employees were waiting around to get back in to the building to collect their things and survey the damage.
All along Broadway, Eureka's busiest thoroughfare, lights were out and traffic was heavy as people attempted to get out of town.
Arcata, near Humboldt State University, had power, and residents of McKinleyville also reported having power. Fortuna seemed fairly undamaged as of early evening.
Sgt. Matt Eberhart of the Fortuna Police Department said Fortuna takes dispatches for Rio Dell, Ferndale and Fortuna, adding that there were a couple reports of gas leaks and of businesses that had items had falling off the shelves, including Safeway and Beverage Plus.
One woman in front of Fortuna's Rite Aid said she lived four miles from the epicenter of the Loma Prieta quake and said this was a piece of cake.
"This was nothing compared to Loma Prieta," said Theresa Chesmore.
In Eureka, 77-year-old Paul Knaak owns a two-story house on Summer Street, where he had two broken water pipes and his belongings strewn across the floor.
"I don't know about the foundation yet," he said, as he waited outside Shafer's Ace Hardware in Henderson Center to purchase supplies. The store, however, was closed.
He said it was the biggest quake he'd experienced in his life.
Mike Hagedorn, bakery manager at Winco, said the store was a mess.
"Everything was off the shelves," he said. "It was booming ... . You can imagine our liquor section right now."
Phillip Smith-Hanes, Humboldt County administrative officer and public information officer for this incident through the Office of Emergency Services, confirmed just before 6 p.m. that the quake measured 6.5.
The epicenter was 20 miles west-northwest of Ferndale.
"Kind of straight west of Humboldt Hill," Smith-Hanes said.
The office has not received any reports of major injury.
"We do have quite a few reports of damage,"Smith-Hanes said.
He classified the damage as minor to moderate.
As of 7 p.m., about 27,000 PG&E customers were without power.
Broken gas lines and downed power lines were the most types of calls coming across the scanner.
Marshall Boyett of McKinleyvile was driving when the earthquake hit.
"It was like the street was breakdancing," Boyett said.
Releases from both HSU and St. Joseph Health System said no injuries were reported at those locations.
Power is out at the Times-Standard, and reports Saturday evening were filed from the parking lot on a single laptop, illiminated by headlamps from employee vehicles.
Jana Morris, spokewoman for PG&E, said just before 8 p.m. that about 28,000 customers didn't have power. Outages have been reported in all the major cities and unincorporated area.
"We have done a thorough investigation of the power plants, both the fossil and nuclear sites, and everything looks good," Morris said. "The investigation turned out that there was no significant damage and everything is up and running."
Morris said that crews will work around the clock to try and restore power with estimates of power being restored in some areas as late as Sunday night. Crews from Mendocino and Sonoma counties were on their way to help as of 8 p.m.
Morris said that people should not approach downed power lines even if the neighborhood is dark.
Report down power lines to 911 or 1-800-PGE-5000.
The temblor was felt at least as far east as Willow Creek where the night manager Chris Potter said the movement was definitely noticeable.
"It was pretty intense," he said. "We really felt it."
He said he thought merchandise would be falling, but that didn't happen.
