Magnitude 4.5 Earthquake Shakes Wide Swath Of Southern California

CABAZON (CBSLA) — An early morning earthquake jolted a wide swath of Southern California awake Tuesday.

The quake, which struck about 6 miles south-southeast of Mt. San Gorgonio, near Cabazon, in Riverside County at about 4:49 a.m., was downgraded to magnitude-4.5. It was initially reported to have a preliminary magnitude of 4.6.

The temblor was felt as far west as the San Fernando Valley and Simi Valley, as far south as Tijuana, and near Barstow to the north. Residents in the Inland Empire reported feeling it strongly in cities like Menifee, Rancho Cucamonga and Temecula.

In Redlands, at least one customer at a Starbucks described the earthquake as sounding like "a train rolling through the area." Local resident Brianna Orrantia said she also heard it before she felt it, just minutes after waking up.

"I knew it was an earthquake, you can hear it when it comes," she said, adding that her cat was also alert to the quake.

According to the U.S. Geological Survey, that initial quake was followed about two minutes later by two more measuring in at 2.2 and 3.2. The area continued to rattle throughout the morning, with a fourth earthquake hitting at about 9 a.m., measuring in at magnitude-2.4.

The quake occurred 8 miles beneath wilderness north of Cabazon, a lightly populated desert community best known to travelers along Interstate 10 as the location of giant dinosaur statues, a casino resort, outlet stores and giant spinning windmills that turn the gusty winds of San Gorgonio Pass into electricity.

Metrolink reported that trains out of San Diego and the Inland Empire may experience delays due to precautionary track inspections following the earthquake.