05:33 PM MST on Monday, December 22, 2003

CNN report

Two people died when a building collapsed after a strong earthquake jolted the central California coast Monday and sent tremors from Los Angeles to San Francisco.

The quake registered a preliminary magnitude of 6.5 when it hit about 11:15 a.m., the U.S. Geological Survey said.

Its epicenter was about six miles northeast of the town of San Simeon, about 240 miles north of Los Angeles and 200 miles south of San Francisco.

In Paso Robles, about 30 miles from the epicenter, two people were killed when a building capped by the city's landmark clock tower collapsed, said Ron Alsop, a spokesman for the San Luis Obispo County Emergency Services Office.

The tower was on a corner of the two-story building built in 1892. It was across from a municipal park and housed a jewelry store, said Madelyn Stemper, an accountant at a nearby office.

"A lot of the buildings across from the park in both directions are pretty well demolished," she said.

Another Paso Robles resident, Bijan Eskandanian, said he and his wife were walking down the street when the quake hit "like a shock wave in a bomb blast," he said. "It almost knocked us off our feet."

City officials said businesses and homes near downtown were destroyed by the quake, which ruptured gas and water lines. They urged residents to use bottled water for drinking and cooking until the city's water system can be checked and confirmed safe.

More than 30 aftershocks were reported in the hour after the quake, with the strongest measuring about 4.7.

More aftershocks are expected during the next several days, said Ross Stein, a geophysicist with the USGS in Menlo Park, near San Francisco.

Stein said some aftershocks could be larger than Monday's main quake, which he called a "garden variety" magnitude 6.5 event.

Closer to the epicenter in San Simeon, area hospitals reported no patients arriving with injuries.

A spokesman for Pacific Gas & Electric, the utility that serves the area, said about 40,000 customers were without power after the quake triggered rock slides that brought down power lines near San Luis Obispo.

No damage was reported at PG&E's Diablo Canyon nuclear plant, about 100 miles from the epicenter, Stein said. A plant spokesman said operations continued uninterrupted.

Park rangers in San Simeon ordered evacuation of the Hearst Castle, the palatial home built by newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst.

The castle is now a state historic site. Ruth Coleman, director of California's state park service, said no structural damage had been detected, but some artifacts from Hearst's extensive collection may have been damaged.

Mary Carson, executive director of the Chamber of Commerce in nearby Cambria, said the rolling lasted for what seemed like a minute.

"At first, it felt like a big truck was going by. Then it kind of rolled," she said.

"Things did fall off the shelves, a couple of windows broke and some ceilings came apart. But, as far as I can tell, I haven't heard of any injuries or severe damage."

Templeton resident Tony Vasquez said he was in the shower when the quake hit. He said he heard "a slight rumble, and then this enormous jolt knocked me down and actually sheared off the shower head."

"I never thought I'd have to wear a seat belt in the shower, " Vasquez said.

The quake was felt as a sustained rolling motion in Los Angeles and San Francisco, CNN crews in both cities reported.

The earthquake was considered a strong one, said Brian Lassiege, a USGS geophysicist. It was relatively shallow, striking about 4.7 miles below the Earth's surface, he said.

Lassiege said shallower earthquakes tend to inflict more damage.

Stein said the last earthquake of similar size occurred along the same coastal area in 1952, but he said he was not sure on which fault the latest shake occurred.

"But we believe the earthquake occurred on the San Simeon fault not far from the Hearst Castle and Cambria," Stein said.

"This fault extends to the south where ... essentially one long fault that kisses the coastline all the way from where California takes its northward bend near Santa Barbara up to the Golden Gate."

Article courtesy of CNN