Magnitude 5.6 quake rattles Northern California; ShakeAlerts reach Sacramento area

A moderate earthquake struck Northern California’s Mendocino County on Wednesday morning, triggering earthquake and cellphone notifications across a wide swath of the state, including the Sacramento region.

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The magnitude 5.6 quake struck at 8:10 a.m. about 7 miles north of Redwood Valley, a small Mendocino County community of about 2,000 residents located roughly 10 miles north of Ukiah, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The epicenter was about 70 miles north of Santa Rosa, 108 miles northwest of Sacramento and 113 miles south of Arcata.

The USGS said the quake occurred at a depth of about 5 miles.

Residents across the Sacramento region reported receiving MyShake and ShakeAlert warnings on their phones before shaking from the distant quake reached the area, though many said they did not feel it. The alerts are designed to give people farther from an earthquake’s epicenter several seconds of warning before seismic waves arrive.

The Governor’s Office of Emergency Services said nearly 657,000 earthquake early-warning alerts were sent through the MyShake app after the quake. The agency said the ShakeAlert Earthquake Early Warning System was activated and that officials were coordinating with local authorities to assess impacts.

As of 9 a.m. Wednesday, neither the USGS nor state officials had reported injuries or damage.

The earthquake also appeared to trigger scattered power outages across Mendocino County. As of about 9:25 a.m., Pacific Gas and Electric Co. reported roughly 8,000 customers without electricity in and around Willits, Covelo and Laytonville. Utility crews were investigating the outages, and estimated restoration times ranged from late morning to midafternoon.

According to the USGS’ “Did You Feel It?” reporting system, nearly 4,000 people had submitted reports by 9 a.m. The agency’s intensity map showed the strongest shaking was concentrated around the Redwood Valley and Ukiah areas, while lighter shaking was reported across much of Northern California, including parts of the Sacramento Valley.

In Ukiah, residents described the earthquake as one of the strongest to hit the area in years. Jon Srech, owner of Black Oak Coffee Roasters, said it was the biggest quake he had felt since moving to the area.

“I’ve lived here since 2006, so for 20 years, and this is the biggest earthquake I’ve felt in that time,” Srech said.

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He said the quake caused no apparent damage at his coffee shop and nothing fell from shelves, but some customers left shortly afterward.

“They were freaked out and didn’t really want to be inside,” he said.

At Club Calpella Restaurant a few miles south of the epicenter, employee Bri Leon said the shaking knocked bottles from shelves.

“It kind of just felt like something really big hit the building,” Leon said.

Asked whether she had experienced a similar quake before, Leon replied: “Not to this magnitude.”

Residents closer to the Sacramento region, including in Davis and Lodi, reported on social media that they did not feel the earthquake, though some said they noticed chandeliers, hanging plants and other suspended objects swaying. The earthquake occurred on the Maacama Fault, a strike-slip fault that runs through Sonoma and Mendocino counties, according to Christie Rowe, director of the Nevada Seismological Laboratory and a professor at the University of Nevada, Reno.

Rowe described the Maacama Fault as a significant fault within the broader San Andreas Fault system. Because it moves horizontally, people near the epicenter would be more likely to feel a sharp jolt, while those farther away would experience gentler rolling motion as the seismic waves spread outward.

“It gives folks more of a lateral punch,” Rowe said.

Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office said the governor had been briefed on the earthquake and that state officials were monitoring the situation.

“The Governor’s Office is closely coordinating with emergency officials and assessing potential impacts and damage,” the Governor’s Office said.

According to The Sacramento Bee’s automated earthquake bot, the area has experienced four tremors of magnitude 2.5 or above. The biggest, a 3.1 magnitude quake, was detected close to The Geysers on Saturday.

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This story was originally published June 24, 2026 at 8:25 AM.