5.0 EARTHQUAKE HITS NEAR PETROLIA

A magnitude 5.0 earthquake struck a sparsely populated area of Humboldt

County on Wednesday, shaking residents out of their sleep but causing no

injuries or damage.

"I felt it. It rolled and rolled and rolled and shook the windows. It woke

me up. It woke a lot of people up," said Diane Clark, a clerk at the Honeydew

General Store.

The quake struck just before 5 a.m. Its epicenter was eight miles

west-southwest of Petrolia, which is in one of California's most seismically

active areas, with three continental plates meeting.

The quake also was felt in Eureka, about 50 miles away.

The area experienced a 7.2 quake in April 1992 that leveled the Petrolia

store, post office and fire station and caused considerable damage further

inland.

On Wednesday, residents said they heard the roar of the quake first,

sounding like a truck coming through their house, before it hit.

It was followed by 2,900 aftershocks - most so small that they weren't

felt, but an unusually high number of aftershocks for a 5.0 quake, said Dave

Oppenheimer, a seismologist with the U.S. Geological Survey.

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