Study suggests earthquake fault could shake up Orange County’s future
Good morning. It’s Wednesday, Sept. 28. I’m Carol Cormaci, bringing you today’s TimesOC newsletter with the latest roundup of news and events.
Maybe you saw this L.A. Times headline the other day and, like me, wondered if we were all doomed to be swallowed up by Mother Earth at any moment: “Fault along L.A., O.C. coast could unleash huge earthquake on scale of San Andreas, study shows.”
The phrase “huge earthquake” tends to give me pause. I’ve resided a little too close to a couple of good-sized shakers in my lifetime (one was a magnitude 6.1 and the other 6.7), but so far have lived to tell the tale. Neither of those, however, could hold a candle to the potential experts see in a seismic event along the Palos Verdes fault zone, according to this report by one of our colleagues, Salvador Hernandez.
“Scientists found the fault could produce a quake of a magnitude comparable to one from the San Andreas fault,” Hernandez writes. “Earlier estimates said the fault zone could generate up to a magnitude 7.4 earthquake, but the new study shows it could produce a quake as strong as 7.8.”
As the name of the fault suggests, it runs deep beneath the Palos Verdes Peninsula in L.A. County, but “it’s a system of interconnected, closely spaced planar fractures stretching from the Santa Monica Bay to the waters off Dana Point,” Hernandez reports.
This brings the specter of significant damages a little closer to home, at least to those living in coastal Orange County.
“Caltech seismologist Egill Hauksson said a 7.8 quake on the Palos Verdes fault would devastate Southern California,” Hernandez writes.
Uh-oh, that doesn’t sound good.
I pushed on reading the article. This is not to discourage anyone from taking this news to heart and making sure their earthquake supply kit is up-to-date, but I think it’s safe not to panic. At least not about this particular fault zone. Yet.
Hauksson, whom Hernandez describes as one of the region’s most respected experts in this field, said a potentially massive quake along that fault zone would be unlikely to occur in our lifetime.
“It would be pretty devastating, but it’s pretty unlikely,” Hauksson told Hernandez. “It’s not a very active fault.”
MORE NEWS
— Tropical Storm Kay last month brought rainfall and high surf to the coastal areas of Orange County, shifting sands and shifting the railroad at San Clemente, according to this story by L.A. Times reporter Grace Toohey. The immediate result was the short-term delay of some Metrolink service along the line. Officials say that stretch of coast is caught precariously between an “ancient landslide” and severe sand loss from erosion, development and climate change. When the Sept. 9 shifting action was reported, Metrolink added 1,600 tons of boulders between the rail lines and the ocean, Metrolink spokesperson Scott Johnson told Toohey. He expects more to be added through this Sunday.
— Huntington Beach police replaced their aging air fleet with the purchase of brand-new helicopters they will begin receiving in November, less than a year after a department aircraft crashed in Newport Beach, killing one officer and seriously injuring another. The three MD-530F helicopters that were ordered cost a combined $7.3 million.
— Gov. Gavin Newsom signed legislation Tuesday authorizing the state to study a proposed veterans cemetery in Anaheim Hills, according to a City News Service report. Assemblywoman Sharon Quirk-Silva (D-Fullerton), who sponsored a bill that was merged with one from state Sen. Tom Umberg (D-Santa Ana), hailed the move along with Nick Berardino, president of the Veterans Alliance of Orange County.
— Two Orange County women, Michelle Estey of Newport Beach and Melanie Belger of Mission Viejo, will face federal charges after they were both arrested Friday in connection with the breach of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Both are charged with four offenses, including entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds, disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds, disorderly conduct in a Capitol building and parading, demonstrating or picketing in a Capitol building.
— Costa Mesa police are investigating a fatal crash that took place Friday morning near the intersection of Newport Boulevard and 17th Street, where a vehicle crashed into a drainage ditch and became engulfed in flames. The deceased motorist, identified this week as 70-year-old Deborah Jean Holmes, was alone in her SUV at the time of the crash.
— A 25-year-old self-described “incel” — involuntary celibate — charged with felony hate crimes after allegedly posting a video of himself sexually harassing and pepper-spraying women in Costa Mesa made his first court appearance Monday, following his arrest five days earlier. Johnny Deven Young, who was arrested in San Mateo County, was held on $500,000 bail in Orange County’s Theo Lacy Jail. His last known city of residence is Las Vegas.
LIFE & LEISURE
— A gift store, perhaps not surprisingly, is one of the elements to the new Orange County Museum of Art, which will open its doors to the public next month. The store, given the name the Mind, according to this story by my colleague Sarah Mosqueda, will foster a connection between OCMA and its neighbor, South Coast Plaza. There will be five distinct sections to the retail operation, from a Vintage Gallery to more contemporary offerings. All will be centered around a functional art piece made of stainless-steel mirrors with a hidden soundtrack created by French artist Sébastien Léon. For a sneak peek of the $94-million OCMA, check out these L.A. Times photos.
— Madison and Luke Rhoades, owners of Cross Roads Escape Games in Anaheim, have unveiled their latest creation, Weeping Witch. This hourlong game for three to eight players (ages 14 and up) has flashing lights, fog scents, jump scares and loud noises. Mosqueda gives the full rundown on this business and its new game offering in a feature story published this week.
— Huntington Beach resident Don Ramsey, 70, a man who is “terrified of heights,” according to his daughter, gamely jumped out of a plane 13,000 feet in the air with the U.S. Navy Leap Frogs on Thursday morning. The popular Ramsey, owner and president of Ecology Tires, is a fixture in his hometown, active in a multitude of organizations. He participated in the jump to help bring attention to the upcoming Pacific Air Show.
— The Hana Field Pumpkin Patch in Costa Mesa opened Saturday for the season. Situated between the 55 and the 405 freeways and bordered by Anton and Sunflower avenues, the 30-acre field has been planted with 4 acres of pumpkins, along with marigolds and sunflowers — all of which you can pick and take home with you. This story has all the details.
SPORTS
— Kanoa Igarashi, a Huntington Beach native and the two-time U.S. Open of Surfing winner, on Saturday won the men’s gold medal at the International Surfing Assn. World Surfing Games. Surfing for Team Japan, Igarashi also helped the Team Japan men earn the team trophy, meaning Japan has earned at least a spot for the upcoming Olympic Games in Paris in 2024.
— After a long back-and-forth fight that included a request for an emergency restraining order, Los Alamitos High School junior T.A. Cunningham, who transferred from Georgia, was granted a hardship waiver by the CIF Southern Section and cleared to play this Friday night against Newport Harbor High.
— Local high school cross-country teams got a chance to showcase their program depth on Saturday via the grade-level races provided in the Sunny Hills Wayne Walker Invitational in Fullerton. The results can be found here.
CALENDAR THIS
— Costa Mesa-based nonprofit Project Independence invites all to run, walk or roll at its 13th annual Walk for Independence, set for 8 a.m. this Saturday, Oct. 1, at TeWinkle Park in Costa Mesa to help launch National Disability Employment Awareness Month. Funds raised from the walk will help fund the organization’s independent living, supported employment and day program services that support more than 600 adults with developmental disabilities. To register to participate in the event, visit proindependence.org. To become a sponsor, contact Todd Eckert at Todd@Proindependence.org or (714) 549-3464.
— Also this Saturday, a storewide fall book sale is set for 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Donald Dungan Library, hosted by Friends of the Libraries Bookstore. All books will be discounted, and shoppers can peruse a table where titles will be offered at the price of four for $1. Adult fiction, nonfiction, bestsellers, coffee table books and children’s books will be priced at 50% off. The library is located at 1855 Park Ave., Costa Mesa.
KEEP IN TOUCH
If you have a memory or story about Orange County, I would love to read and share it in this space. Please try to keep your submission to 100 words or less and include your name and current city of residence.
I’d appreciate your help in making this the best newsletter it can be. Please send news tips, your memory of life in O.C., or comments to carol.cormaci@latimes.com.
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