Here’s where Thursday’s quake ranks with two memorable temblors felt in Fresno, Valley

The earthquake that shook Fresno and the central San Joaquin Valley on Thursday registered a magnitude of 6.0 and was centered near Coleville in Mono County, according to preliminary U.S. Geological Survey data. This places the epicenter nearly 175 miles from downtown Fresno.

Here’s a look at how the temblor compared with two memorable past quakes that were felt here.

July 2019, 6.4 magnitude near Ridgecrest

The 6.4 magnitude earthquake struck at 10:33 a.m. July 4, 2019, near Ridgecrest — about 224 miles southeast of Fresno. People as far north as Sacramento and as far east as Las Vegas reported feeling the earthquake, which resulted in fires, broken gas lines and millions of dollars in damage in the Ridgecrest area. Aftershocks occurred for weeks.

It was the strongest earthquake in 20 years that shook a large swath of Southern California and parts of Nevada.

May 1983, 6.2 magnitude near Coalinga

This was a big one in terms of damage for the central San Joaquin Valley because its epicenter was located here. The magnitude-6.4 temblor struck at 4:42 p.m. May 3, 1983, rattling areas as far south as Los Angeles and as far north as Lassen County. It devastated Coalinga, injuring 47 people there and causing more than $31 million in damage.

This story was originally published July 8, 2021 at 5:28 PM.