3.4 Quake Gives County a Shake

A small earthquake centered in Costa Mesa delivered a quick, sharp jolt to part of Orange County on Tuesday morning, strong enough to set off car alarms but not to cause any injuries, damage or even missed class time at a high school next to the epicenter.

It was one of three small temblors that shook Southern California on Tuesday.

The first and strongest, a magnitude 3.4 that hit at 11:22 a.m. near the Costa Mesa Golf Course and Estancia High School, was felt as far away as Los Angeles.

“It was kind of strange, like it was an upward movement rather than the normal side to side,” said Jeff Cooper, the assistant golf pro at the city course. “Everybody stopped and looked at each other, then pretty much went on with life.”

Police and fire departments across Orange County received a few panicked calls about the temblor but reported no injuries or even minor damage. Officials at John Wayne Airport also reported no disruptions.

The earthquake provided a light moment in the Santa Ana courtroom where jurors are hearing testimony in the penalty phase of convicted serial killer Charles Ng’s trial.

Most of those in the audience and jury booth felt the tremor, but Superior Court Judge John J. Ryan was oblivious for a moment.

“What is going on?” he asked when he noticed the commotion.

“Earthquake,” some jurors replied.

“What?” the judge asked again.

“EARTHQUAKE,” the whole panel responded.

“You call that an earthquake?” joked Ryan, who often amuses courtroom observers with his quick wit. “At least we are on the top floor. We will be above everybody” if the building collapses.

At Estancia High, students were getting ready for lunch when classrooms and offices were jarred. Nothing was damaged, and school administrators saw no need to send students outside--the quake was over in an instant, said Suzanne Sense, office manager at the school.

“It was very sharp and very short,” Sense said. “We didn’t evacuate any buildings. We just made an announcement to everyone that, yes, they just felt an earthquake.”

Caltech seismologist Kate Hutton said the jolt occurred very close to the Newport-Inglewood fault, which snakes along the coast and which caused the devastating Long Beach quake of 1933.

A second quake measuring 2.1 struck nearby 22 minutes later, two miles north of Bolsa Chica State Beach. Caltech seismologists have not yet determined if the second jolt was an aftershock or a separate temblor, Hutton said.

A third, unrelated quake rattled the Riverside County desert at 4:39 p.m. The magnitude 3.2 temblor was centered three miles northeast of Desert Hot Springs.

Times staff writer Daniel Yi, correspondent Jason Kandel and wire services contributed to this report.

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A Sharp Jolt

A magnitude 3.4 earthquake centered near Fairview Park in Costa Mesa shook Southern California on Tuesday.