Quake shakes Fresno County foothills west of I-5

A 4.0 magnitude earthquake quietly rocked the foothills west of Interstate 5 on Monday, but went largely unnoticed in the nearby cities of Los Banos and Mendota.

The U.S. Geological Survey reported the quake struck shortly after 11:30 a.m. about 30 miles southwest of Mendota and south of Los Banos.

The California Highway Patrol’s Los Banos office and the Mendota Police Department both said they didn’t receive any reports of damage or impact.

Jerzy Aust, assistant manager of the Mercy Hot Springs hotel at the 62900 block of Little Panoche Road, said he felt the quake for a few seconds. The hotel is about five miles northeast of the quake’s reported epicenter.

“It wasn’t anything big, just something that might’ve woken up someone who was sleeping,” Aust said.

Other businesses along Interstate 5, including the Chevron off the West Panoche Road exit, said they didn’t feel any of the quake’s impact.

This story was originally published May 19, 2015 at 3:27 PM with the headline "Quake shakes Fresno County foothills west of I-5."