Seismic activity in California shakes Pahrump

Some Pahrump and Amargosa residents felt a slight jolt under their feet after an earthquake struck Barstow, California.

The 4.6 magnitude earthquake struck slightly over 14 miles northeast of Barstow on Friday, nearly 200 miles away from Pahrump, according to information from the U.S. Geological Survey. The depth of the earthquake on the USGS’ website was nearly 2 miles.

Pahrump and Amargosa had three dozen reports on the USGS’ “Did You Feel It?” map—a portal to report if you’ve felt an earthquake in the area you’re in at the time. The majority of those reports were in Pahrump.

Dozens in Clark County also reported feeling the quake through the USGS’ portal. No injuries or damage were reported in Pahrump due to the quake.

“The 4.6 (quake) was felt by some in Nevada and some all the way in L.A.,” said Morgan Page, seismologist at the USGS.

Page said there were nine aftershocks detected that were above a 1.8 magnitude in a Monday interview.

“The largest aftershock, there were two that were at magnitude 2.9,” she said.

More aftershocks could occur, though not likely over a 4.6 magnitude, the size of the original quake.

“There could still be aftershocks over the next few days, but the chance you’d get something bigger than a 4.6 is less than 5%,” Page said in Monday interview.

Ridgecrest

The last earthquake to shake the Pahrump area was in August, when many reported feeling the effects of a magnitude 5.0 quake that hit Ridgecrest, California. No injuries or damage were reported from the August 2019 quake.

But earlier in 2019 (July), the effects of a 6.9 magnitude quake in Ridgecrest were evident. Power to an estimated 3,000 people was cut off following the quake.

In July, the Nye County Sheriff’s Office reported that the death of a Pahrump resident could have been related to that quake.

A Pahrump resident was found dead on July 9, 2019 underneath his vehicle at his residence in Pahrump, according to the sheriff’s office at that time.

“Based on the preliminary timing and circumstances at the scene, the Nye County Sheriff’s (Office) investigation revealed the man’s death may be the result of the vehicle falling off its jack on July 4th during the earthquake,” Sgt. Adam Tippetts of the sheriff’s office said in a July 2019 video statement.

USGS seismologists said the August quake was an aftershock of the larger one in July.

Local reaction

Many people in the Pahrump area took to the Pahrump Valley Times’ social media page and reported that they’d felt the quake on Jan. 24.

Times reader Belinda Fannie Fox made a comment on the publication’s Facebook page about feeling the quake in Pahrump: “I did. I thought I was just having a dizzy spell. I even looked at the clock at that moment. Near the high school.”

“Yep, Gamebird area around 7 p.m. approximately 3 secs,” said Hector Herras on the Times Facebook page.

Some commenters on the Times’ Facebook page said they didn’t feel it on the north side of town, though people in Mountain Falls and in other areas on Pahrump’s south end reported they felt it.

Contact Interim Editor Jeffrey Meehan at jmeehan@pvtimes.com