Magnitude 5.5 Earthquake Rocks Inland Empire

SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY, CA — A magnitude 5.5 earthquake shook the Inland Empire Wednesday, but there are no immediate reports of serious damage.

The temblor struck at 6:32 p.m. about 10 miles south of the Mojave Desert's Searles Valley in northwestern San Bernardino County, the U.S. Geological Society reported. According to the 201o census, the unincorporated area has a population of 1,739 people.

The temblor was an aftershock to a series of quakes that occurred in the Ridgecrest area last July 4 and 5, the largest of which had a magnitude of 7.1, said seismologist Lucy Jones, formerly of the USGS.

Following Wednesday's quake, a magnitude 3.2 aftershock was reported in the same area at 6:52 p.m., and another followed at 7:04 p.m. that registered a magnitude 3.0, according to the USGS.