The Brief

A magnitude 4.6 earthquake struck west of Malibu at about 1:47 p.m. Friday and was felt throughout the region. It was followed shortly afterward by a smaller 3.0 quake.

The quake, which was initially reported as a 4.7, hit about 7.5 miles north west of Malibu, with people reported feeling the shaking as far south as San Diego and as far north as Santa Barbara and Bakersfield. More than 3,000 people made reports to the USGS within minutes of the quake striking.

The depth of the quake — roughly 9 miles — was relatively deep and likely helped attenuate the shaking.

Damage assessments are being performed by various emergency agencies including L.A. City Fire, L.A. County Fire and Ventura County Fire. No immediate damage was reported.

“We did feel it, but thankfully nothing broke,” said Max Alperstein who works at Colony Liquor House in Malibu on Pacific Coast Highway. “It was more of a scare for a lot of customers, who walked out into the parking lot. We stayed and watched everything move back and forth.”

Some books did fly off the shelf at Malibu Village Books, and a few surfboard fins fell off the wall at Traveler Surf Club. While wines in Summer Somewhere Wines in Malibu did rattle, they didn't roll (or shatter).

“This is fairly typical. We get these moderate earthquakes occurring on our many fault zones around here," said Elizabeth Cochran, a seismologist with the U.S. Geological Survey. "We would expect that we’re going to continue to see some little aftershocks happening in this area over the next couple of days perhaps. Otherwise, we just have to see how things progress.”

It’s not immediately clear exactly which fault the earthquake originated from, though Cochran said that it's most likely the Anacapa-Dume fault, which is an east-west trending fault that reaches from Santa Monica to offshore of Point Dume in Malibu. Other suspects nearby include the Malibu Coast fault, the Oak View fault zone and the Red Mountain fault.

Triangles and circles indicate locations where people reported feeling the quake to the United States Geological Survey

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Courtesy USGS

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An early warning was issued by the U.S. Geological Survey, giving some residents in the San Fernando Valley a roughly 10-second warning before the shaking started.

"It was strong and scary, but it was fine," said Danielle Mccague, a bartender at Marmalade Cafe in Malibu. "Everyone's OK, nothing broke, just one little piece from a fire thing from the ceiling came down. That's it."

Malibu, Westlake Village, Agoura and Woodland Hills, are reported to have experienced the heaviest shaking, according to the USGS, with the movement registering as a four on the Modified Mercalli Intensity scale.

The USGS describes a magnitude 4 as: "Felt indoors by many, outdoors by few during the day...Dishes, windows, doors disturbed; walls make cracking sound. Sensation like heavy truck striking building. Standing motor cars rocked noticeably."

Multiple aftershocks followed within minutes, the largest being a magnitude 3.0.

There's always about a 5% chance that a larger earthquake will strike following the initial event, though those odds go down over time.

No tsunami warning was issued.

And with no immediate reports of injuries or damage, social media was quickly populated by the requisite memes.

This story was originally published by Boyle Heights Beat on Jan. 27, 2026.

East Los Angeles pastor Carlos Rincon stood outside a Minneapolis church on Friday, in below-zero temperatures, livestreaming what he was witnessing on the ground in the face of violence by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in the region.

In a matter of weeks, he said, “an army of people” at Dios Habla Hoy Church in Minneapolis managed to distribute food packages to thousands of families — including green card holders and U.S. citizens — who were too afraid to leave their homes for food and worship.

“The persecution in Minneapolis is terrible, more cruel than what’s happened in Los Angeles,” the pastor said in his video. Federal agents “are going against anyone,” Rincon, who pastors the Assemblies of God church Centro de Vida Victoriosa in East L.A., told Boyle Heights Beat.

Rincon, who has attended vigils and protests against immigration raids in LA, was in Minneapolis for three days. He witnessed clergy getting arrested at the Minneapolis-St Paul International Airport in an anti-ICE protest. He marched with tens of thousands of Minnesotans amid the state’s general strike against ICE.

Since Rincon’s visit, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said some federal agents will begin to leave Tuesday amid outrage over the fatal shootings of Alex Pretti and Renee Good by federal immigration agents.

In Minneapolis, Rincon was struck by the number of white Americans showing up in defense of immigrants. He recalled elderly American women “battling the snow” as they kept watch for agents. He also saw as many as 500 or more people sorting food inside the church for distribution.

Rincon spent time with Dios Habla Hoy pastor Sergio Amezcua, who has denounced ICE as “acting like narco cartels back in Mexico.” Amezcua’s church set up a system — involving volunteers of all religious and ethnic backgrounds — to deliver food to thousands of families in the area.

“I got citizens, permanent residents, they avoid coming to church. … We preach to the world religious freedom and Minnesota people cannot go to church,” Amezcua said in a video on the nonprofit news site Mother Jones.

“And if they come to church, there’s ICE agents outside of churches waiting for them,” he said. “It’s really evil what’s going on.”

The Rev. Carlos Rincon spent three days in Minneapolis.

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Courtesy of Rincon

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A board member of the Latino Christian and National Network, Rincon said he went to Minneapolis to gauge the needs of Latino churches in the area. He said Dios Habla Hoy Church had to implement added security measures before letting anyone inside the church.

“I’m impressed by the city, people of Minneapolis, how selflessly they serve,” Rincon said. “They’re willing to risk their own lives.”

Rincon, who is part of the LA-based Clergy and Laity United for Economic Justice, wants more religious Latino leaders to denounce ICE violence.

His denomination, the fast-growing Assemblies of God, is made up of about 180,000 adherents in its Southern California network, many of whom are immigrants. Rincon said a fellow LA pastor is currently at risk of deportation. It’s a conservative denomination, he said, “that has been captivated by the Republican Party.”

“Although we are targets, the evangelical Pentecostal churches, they’re not speaking on this issue,” said Rincon, who is Mexican American. “I’m trying to change that.”

“I’m taking a risk because I wasn’t born in this country. I’m a naturalized American, but I believe in what I do,” he added.

In LA, Rincon and his largely immigrant church, which he has led for nearly 40 years, have helped provide funds to immigrant families in need during the raids. While not all congregants agree on everything, “they see me as their spiritual leader,” he said.

Rincon returned to LA on Saturday, just in time to attend a downtown interfaith vigil outside of the federal building, where he addressed clergy and others.

“I come in love with the beloved community of Minneapolis,” he said in Spanish. “They are rising up. They are fighting. “Thank you, Lord, for Minneapolis, because they have opened their doors and protected the vulnerable.”

“They are saving lives when others have built walls,” Rincon continued.

We're in for another mild day with partly to mostly cloudy skies. The National Weather Service forecasts that come Thursday, temperatures will rise more and the Santa Ana winds will return.

Coastal communities in the L.A. area will see highs mostly around 70 degrees today. Meanwhile, the Orange County coast will stay cooler with high temperatures around 62 degrees.

More inland, the valleys and the Inland Empire will see highs from 69 to 75 degrees, up to 76 degrees in Coachella Valley. In the Antelope Valley, highs will be mostly in the low 60s.