Heavy 6.0-Magnitude Earthquake Hits California

California’s northern Bay Area was hit by a 6.0magnitude earthquake on Sunday morning. The earthquake caused significant damage and left three critically injured, igniting fires, sending at least 87 people to a hospital, knocking out power to tens of thousands and sending residents running out of their homes in the darkness.

 

Two adults and one child have critical injuries and Queen of the Valley hospital has treated 87 people, and most patients have cuts, bumps, bruises. She says the facility has treated a hip fracture and heart attack, but it's unclear if it was related to the large earthquake.

The quake caused six significant fires, including at a mobile home part, Napa Division Fire Chief Darren Drake said. Four mobile homes have been destroyed and two others damaged, the city said. Several other smaller fires have been reported and firefighting efforts have been complicated by broken water mains.

The earthquake struck just before 3:30 a.m. about 4 miles northwest of American Canyon, which is about 6 miles southwest of Napa, said Leslie Gordon of the U.S. Geological Survey said. It's the largest earthquake to shake the Bay Area since the 6.9-magnitude Loma Prieta quake in 1989, the USGS said.

Three historic buildings in Napa have been damaged, including the county courthouse, and at least two downtown commercial buildings have been severely damaged. A Red Cross evacuation center has been set up at a high school and crews are assessing damage to homes.