Magnitude-3.9 Quake Shakes SoCal Desert

SAN DIEGO – A moderate earthquake shook the Imperial Valley and eastern San Diego County Saturday, but was too small to cause any damage.

Automated seismographs indicated that the 3.9 magnitude quake hit at 3:02 p.m. with an epicenter 105 miles east of downtown San Diego, about 15 miles north-northeast of Ocotillo. That location is about 40 miles southeast of Borrego Springs, in an unpopulated area.

Caltech maps showed that the quake was midway between two recent clusters of epicenters from swarms of earthquakes near the crossroads town of Anza, and another seismically-active area south of Mexicali, B.C.

A waiter at a restaurant in Borrego Springs said today’s quake was not felt by him or others, “but we have been drinking wine.”