Earthquake · automatic estimate, may change
M 1.5md
Earthquake near Firebaugh, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Firebaugh in the 24 hours to 8:12 am PST (16:12 UTC). The last one was M 3.9, 72 km (45 mi) WSW, at 3:19 am PDT on 11 August 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 34 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Firebaugh
This page: a magnitude 1.5 earthquake was recorded 15 km (9 mi) west-southwest of Firebaugh, CA, at 4:21 am PDT on 24 September 2026 (11:21 UTC), less than 1 km deep. The magnitude and location are an automatic first estimate and may change.
USGS: 15 km WSW of Firebaugh, CA
49 km (31 mi) WSW of Madera, CA · 119 km (74 mi) ESE of San Jose, CA
- When
- 4:21 am PDT on 24 September 2026 ()
- Where
- 15 km (9 mi) west-southwest of Firebaugh, CA · earthquakes near Firebaugh
- Magnitude
- M 1.5 (md)
- Depth
- 0.7 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Merced County, 42 km NNW
- Nearest mapped fault
- Great Valley thrust fault system, 12 km from its surface trace — near is not the same as on
- Status
- Automatic — a machine’s first estimate, which may change
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 49 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Firebaugh, CA
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This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.
At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 10 km (6 mi) from the epicentre. In Firebaugh, 15 km away, the estimate is intensity II (weak). Estimated from magnitude, depth and distance with the intensity equation USGS Did You Feel It? uses; felt reports, where there are any, are the measurement.
Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: South Dos Palos, Dos Palos, Mendota.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 5.7 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.5 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,600,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,900,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 170× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.5 about 5.7 lb of TNT
Energy from the Gutenberg–Richter relation (log10E = 1.5M + 4.8), rounded to two figures; bar length is magnitude, which is already a logarithm of energy. Magnitudes of past earthquakes from the USGS catalogue.
For this area
No earthquake of M4 or more has been recorded within 50 km since our catalogue begins in 2016.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists one earthquake of M5 or more within 50 km:
- 6.1 Northwest of Huron, California · 36 km S of this epicentre
Since 2016: the QuakeIndex catalogue (US, M1.5+), built from the USGS FDSN event service. Before 2016: USGS ComCat, M5+ from 1900. Distances are between epicentres. This is the record, not a forecast.
Where
Epicentre 36.8262, -120.6140. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Merced County, CA | 42 km (26 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Merced County |
| San Benito County, CA | 48 km (30 mi) | WSW | earthquakes near San Benito County |
| Fresno County, CA | 86 km (53 mi) | E | earthquakes near Fresno County |
| Madera County, CA | 88 km (55 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near Madera County |
| Stanislaus County, CA | 89 km (55 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Stanislaus County |
| Monterey County, CA | 90 km (56 mi) | SW | earthquakes near Monterey County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
9 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.9 27 km SSW of Los Banos, CA
- 2.6 5 km WNW of Madera, CA
- 2.1 6 km E of Cantua Creek, CA
- 1.6 29 km SW of South Dos Palos, CA
- 1.1 29 km SW of South Dos Palos, CA
- 0.9 14 km E of Pinnacles, CA
- 1.5 11 km E of Pinnacles, CA
- 1.4 8 km ENE of Pinnacles, CA
- 1.2 13 km NNE of Pinnacles, CA
Counted from the QuakeIndex database, which ingests the USGS feed every 30 seconds · as of . QuakeIndex does not forecast aftershocks. When USGS issues an operational aftershock forecast it appears on the USGS event page.
On USGS
- The official USGS event page — the source of record for every value above
- Did you feel it? Report it to USGS — reports go to USGS, not to us
- ShakeMap for this event, when USGS has produced one
QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.