Californians have been keeping an eye on the San Andreas Fault for years fearing a “big one” would strike and cause massive damage.
Now, scientists say that a quake of 7.5 or bigger on a lesser known fault might be even more catastrophic than a quake along the San Andreas Fault line.
The Puente Hills thrust fault, which was the fault which brought Friday night’s 5.1 magnitude quake, runs from northern Orange County through downtown Los Angeles and all the way into Hollywood. The San Andreas Fault runs along the outskirts of Southern California’s metro areas.
Thus, scientists say, a massive quake along the Puente Hills fault would cause significantly more damage and likely brings hundreds or thousands of deaths. One estimate from the U.S. Geological Survey estimated as many as 1,800 deaths and $250 billion in damage.
The same fault in 1987 had a 5.9 quake that killed eight people and caused $350 million in damage.
One USGS staffer said that a 7.5 quake centered in Los Angeles would be so intense that it would throw heavy objects like a grand piano into the air.
A mystery virus that is causing polio-like symptoms in children has spread to southern California.
Lucian Olivera, 2, is the latest child to be confirmed to have the illness. Lucian was 11 months old when he had an ear infection before suddenly being unable to stand or use his legs.
Stanford University confirmed on Friday it was the mysterious virus.
Now, doctors are trying to determine if the weakness in the child’s legs is permanent.
“Really, it’s unknown the severity of this for each individual. The thought is that it is permanent, but we don’t know all the things that will happen to every patient,” Dr. John Dingilian said.
Olivera is wearing a brace on his legs and his parents are preparing that he may never be able to walk on his own.
California residents shaken by an early morning 4.4 magnitude earthquake yesterday are concerned that the quake was not the main event.
Many residents are wondering if the quake was a foreshock of something bigger in the near future.
“Always the possibility that it’s a foreshock,” Robert Graves, a U.S. Geological Survey seismologist, told reports. He added that it would be more likely a more significant quake would happen hours after the foreshock rather than days later.
Graves did say it was likely there would be more aftershocks.
Seismologists at the USGS have not yet been able to determine the fault line where the quake happened but have called it a “rather typical earthquake.”
However, a CalTech seismologist said the quake happened in the northern edge of the Santa Monica Mountains area. He called it surprising because there had not been seismic activity in that region in many years.
Two California students are fighting back against a college professor who assaulted them and took away their pro-life signs.
Thrin and Joan Short were part of an pro-life event at the University of California when Associate Professor Mireille Miller-Young ripped the signs they were carrying form their hands. When the girls attempted to get their signs back, the professor kicked and pushed them.
The professor, who teaches feminist studies, claims she had a “moral right” to take the signs from the people who were opposing abortion. The professor is also known for showing pornography in her classes to her students.
Joan Short told Fox News the real offending matter in this incident is abortion itself and that if someone is offended by the process of abortion they should stand up for the life of unborn children.
Santa Barbara police are investigating the incident.
California residents may have dodged a big bullet.
A 6.9 magnitude earthquake struck Sunday night off the coast of northern California, making it the strongest quake to hit west coast since the 2010 Baja California quake that measured 7.2 on the Richter Scale.
The quake struck 50 miles west of Eureka, California in the Pacific Ocean at a depth of four miles. Several aftershocks struck closer to land, including a 3.4 magnitude shock that struck about 16 miles off the coast, but none were centered inland.
Police throughout the region reported no significant injuries.
“My car was rocking back and forth,” Sgt. Brian Stephens of the Eureka Police Department told the LA Times. “I thought someone was shoving my car back and forth, looked around and no one was there. Then I realized what was happening.”
Another resident described the quake as almost like ocean waves, slowly rolling and rocking their home but not causing any real shock.
Ticks around San Francisco, California have been discovered to be carrying a newly discovered bacterium with unknown health effects.
The Stanford University study said that the bacteria, Borrelia miyamotoi, have been found on ticks that were also carrying the bacteria that cause Lyme disease. The study is due to be published in the March issue of Emerging Infectious Disease.
The researchers said the amount of ticks with both bacteria were very small, as little as two percent of the entire amount found during the study. However, the bacteria was found on ticks in all of the 12 recreational areas around San Francisco that was part of the study.
The first human case of infection from B. miyamotoi was discovered in 2013 and other than the patient developing symptoms similar to Lyme disease, little was learned about the bacteria.
One researcher says that patients who are treated for Lyme disease and do not recover could likely be infected with the new bacteria.
The Centers for Disease Control says that Lyme cases are rising because doctors are more familiar with signs of the infection.
The FBI continues to deny the attack on a Pacific Gas and Electric substation in Santa Clara County, California was the work of terrorists despite the slow leaks of more disturbing details about the April 16th attack surface in various news outlets.
The Los Angeles Times reports the attack was “military style” and that whoever conducted the assault knew the layout of the area, locations of security devices and how to avoid being identified on camera.
At least two of the attackers knew exactly which manhole covers to remove to access an underground vault where they used heavy wire cutters to disconnect fiber optic cables.
Also, the snipers used rounds that caused the transformers to only leak oil and be disabled without exploding, avoiding unnecessary attention to the site until they were done disabling 17 transformers. Video of the shooters, stationed 40 yards away from the site, showed only muzzle flashes and at no point did it show any attacker’s face.
The attack was also the night after the Boston Marathon bombings, leading some to wonder if there was a connection between the two incidents.
One legislator is saying what the FBI is not. Representative Zoe Lofgren of San Jose told Fox News that the attack on the station was performed by “pros.”
Personal liberty watchdogs are concerned about a bill working through the California legislature that would require all cell phones to have a “kill switch” that can be activated by law enforcement.
Proponents of the bill say it would allow police or cell phone owners to shut off a device that is stolen so it cannot be used or resold by a thief.
However, critics say that the device could actually be used by authorities as a way to keep citizens from being able to communicate with each other in a time of crisis or as a way to quell dissent in a community.
For example, if police are caught abusing their authority, the police could activate the kill switches to destroy the phones and remove any video evidence of the abuse. It could also stop live streaming of any event authorities do not want to have publicized.
Wireless cell phone manufacturers and carriers have opposed similar measures in other states.
A photo released by NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is clearly showing the major impact of the ongoing California drought.
The photo shows two satellite pictures taken one year apart on January 13th. The first photo shows significant snow covering parts of the state and the second barely shows any snow covering.
The NOAA report with the photo says that the amount of snow cover in some areas is between 78 and 96 percent below normal.
The drought is so significant that the state’s Department of Water Resources says that summer water deliveries for farmers and cities under contract with the California State Water Project will receive less than 5% of their contracted amount.
The impact could devastate the farms of the state that account for 15 percent of the entire nation’s crop totals. In addition to the obvious issues of watering crops, the drier conditions allow for more frequent brush and wildfires that destroy large acres of vegetation.
The governor has the state under a state of emergency because of the drought.
Global evangelist and Southern California pastor Bayless Conley was critically injured in a boating accident on Catalina Island Monday night.
Conley has undergone surgery that his doctors termed as “successful.” He remains in critical condition along with one of the other passengers on the boat. A third person suffered minor injuries.
Local emergency staff says Conley and the others were on a boat that crashed full speed into The Isthmus near Two Harbors on Catalina Island. The report did not say who was piloting the craft or where the victims were on the boat at the time of the accident.
“Please join us as we pray and trust God for a full and speedy recovery for Pastor Bayless and his friends,” Cottonwood Church said in a statement. The church asked for people to pray for comfort for them and their families at this time.
A post on his television ministry’s website said Conley was responsive to doctors but that “the next 24-48 hours are critical” for his recovery.