5.2 earthquake shakes San Diego County, felt across SoCal

LOS ANGELES >> A 5.2 magnitude earthquake shook San Diego County and large parts of Southern California today.

The temblor was centered three miles south of Julian and 17 miles east of Ramona and was felt across the region. There were no immediate reports of major damage or injuries but some residents reported feeling a strong jolt.

Beatriz Scano was working at Soups & Such Cafe in Julian when she felt the earthquake, and immediately rushed to protect herself. Almost simultaneously, she said phones started going off with the emergency alert.

“We could hear the phones going off while the earthquake was going,” Scano said. “It was pretty scary. It shook everything. Up here in Julian we have some every once in a while, but never that strong.”

A few cups fell off a shelf but nothing fell off the walls or broke, Scano said.

The quake was the strongest she has felt in over a decade, she said, though it doesn’t compare to the magnitude 7.2 temblor she felt in Calexico in 2010, when a water tank burst along with a bounce house that was set up for Easter celebrations. That earthquake killed four people and injured dozens more along the California-Mexico border.

Monday morning’s quake felt long, she said, estimating that with an aftershock it could have been shaking for about a minute.

“It was going and I was like, ‘OK it’s going to stop,’ and then it kept going a little bit,” Scano said.

San Diego County firefighter Jarrett Ross, who was working at the agency’s Julian station this morning, said they all definitely felt the quake but said it was “nothing too crazy.”

He said the station hasn’t gotten any calls for injuries or damage since the earthquake.

“It was just a long one, probably five seconds long or so,” Ross said. He said nothing fell or became dislodged in the station due to the quake.

Some people on social media told the U.S. Geological Survey that they got an earthquake early warning — fueled by the ShakeAlert system — on their cellphones.

“That was awesome! GREAT EARLY WARNING!!!” a resident told the USGS’ ShakeAlert social media account on X. “I got the alert on my phone near downtown San Diego several seconds before the primary (shaking) wave hit. WELL DONE!”

The strongest shaking was in sparsely populated areas, considered “strong” on the Modified Mercalli Intensity Scale. That’s enough to be frightening and move furniture but generally causes only slight damage.

In more heavily populated areas closer to the San Diego County coast, the U.S. Geological Survey said “light” shaking was likely, capable of rattling dishes and feeling like a heavy truck has struck a building.

The quake struck at 10:08 a.m. near Julian, an old mining town in the Cuyamaca Mountains that is about 138 miles southeast of Los Angeles.

According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the quake was felt well into Los Angeles County and south to the Mexican border.

It was followed by several aftershocks in the surrounding area, which is sparsely populated.

Los Angeles Times staff writer Richard Winton contributed to this report.