Dozens of aftershocks follow 5.2-magnitude earthquake near Bakersfield that rattled Southern California all the way to LA

A preliminary 5.2-magnitude earthquake struck near Bakersfield on Tuesday, sending shaking all the way to Los Angeles County.

It happened at about 9:09 p.m. Tuesday, roughly 14.29 miles southwest of Lamont, California, which borders Bakersfield in Kern County. It is a relatively rural area about 89 miles north of downtown Los Angeles.

Immediately after the earthquake, the Los Angeles Fire Department deployed its helicopters to survey the region for any potential damages. 

"Our @LAFD has activated to conduct its routine survey of the city and assess for any damages," Mayor Karen Bass posted on X. "City teams will continue to monitor any impacts."

After conducting the survey, firefighters found no significant damage to the infrastructure or any buildings. LAFD received zero injury reports within LA city limits. 

Geologists believe there is little to no risk of landslides or liquefaction in the area, according to the USGS.

Aftershocks 

More than two dozen earthquakes followed the original, with magnitudes between 2.5 and 4.5. The aftershocks struck near Lamont and Grapevine. About 25% of the aftershocks tend to happen within an hour after the original quake.

The USGS recorded three aftershocks above magnitude 4.0. The vast majority of the aftershocks, about 15, were below magnitude 3.0. About nine more magnitude 3.0 to 3.8 earthquakes struck the region shortly after the initial temblor. 

"That's a pretty active sequence for this very short amount of time since the event," seismologist Dr. Lucy Jones said. 

Jones noted that the aftershocks were within the range of a typical sequence of earthquakes. 

Cal Tech seismologists weigh in 

The United States Geological Survey posted a map depicting the intensity of the shaking in the regions surrounding Lamont. According to the map, the shaking was mild in LA County but between light and moderate near the epicenter of Lamont. 

Allen Husker, a seismology research professor at the California Institute of Technology, attributed the shaking in LA to the so-called basin effect. Due to their softer nature, basins tend to amplify shaking from earthquakes. 

Jones said the earthquake originated in the southern end of the Central Valley, close to the epicenter of a magnitude 7.5 earthquake that rocked the region in 1952. 

"However, it does not appear to be on the same fault as that earthquake," she added. "It doesn't look like this [recent] earthquake is associated with any known fault."

Jones said there is just a small chance that the 5.2-magnitude earthquake was a foreshock, as is the case with other earthquakes in California. There is no indication that Tuesday's event is any different, she said. 

"In terms of the chances that this is a foreshock, we have the same answer for every earthquake: It's about a 5 percent chance," she said. "One in 20 earthquakes in Southern California we see are followed by something larger and turns out to be a foreshock within the next few days."

The risk of earthquakes being a foreshock drastically drops with time, she added. 

"One-quarter of all foreshocks are within an hour of the main shock," Jones said. "By the time that we get to three days out ... essentially the risk will be all gone."