Courthouse Briefly Evacuated, Thousands Lose Power After 5.6-Magnitude Earthquake

MENDOCINO COUNTY — A 5.6-magnitude earthquake struck in Mendocino County on Wednesday morning, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

The quake was reported at 8:10 a.m. Wednesday about 7 miles north of Redwood Valley, USGS officials said.

The earthquake was about 5 miles in depth and there was a 2.5-magnitude aftershock several minutes later.

Earthquake alerts were sent to people as far away as the Bay Area because of the shaking, which lasted about 30 seconds. The quake was strong enough to cause pictures and objects to fall off walls and shelves in Redwood Valley.

Following the quake, outages left more than 4,000 customers across the county without power, according to PG&E. The utility's outage map says power is expected to be restored by Wednesday afternoon.

The earthquake also caused the Mendocino County Superior Courthouse in Ukiah to pause proceedings and evacuate until the building could be inspected by county maintenance.

While waiting for the all-clear to return to the building, about two dozen courthouse workers gathered in Alex Thomas Plaza for about half an hour. After county maintenance came by and cleared the building at 9:30 a.m., the workers shuffled back into the courthouse, allowing work to resume.

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