Small Quake Jolts Inland Empire Awake

Inland Empire residents were given a rude awakening after a 4.2 earthquake struck early this morning.

At 5:54 a.m., Saturday morning, the jolt struck Fontana, less than a mile from the Metrolink Station. Initially reported as 4.3, it was later downgraded by the U.S. Geological Survey. People reported feeling the quake as far west as Malibu and as far south as San Diego, but the quake otherwise caused very little damage. San Bernardino County Fire Department spokesman Chris Prater told KTLA that, "The only thing we've found is very superficial damage to some structures, and we did have one report from of a residence that had some broken water pipes due to the earthquake."

The quake had a depth of 2.8 miles. It was not clear to seismologists which fault it originated from. "It's not lining up directly with any of the known fault traces," Caltech seismologists Jennifer Andrews said. "It's east of the San Jacinto [fault]." According to her, the quake was a "strike-slip," meaning the rocks slid past each other horizontally. With no vertical motion, it leads to the quake feeling like a jolt, she explained to NBC 4.

According to ABC 7, two minor aftershocks of 1.6 and 1.2 were felt within the next hour.