A moderate earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 5.6 shook a rural area of Northern California on Wednesday, June 24, 2026, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The epicenter was located approximately 7 miles northwest of Willits, a small agricultural town in Mendocino County, about 140 miles northeast of San Francisco. The quake struck at 8:10 a.m. PT at a depth of around 5 miles, and was widely felt in coastal cities such as Fort Bragg. This was the strongest earthquake recorded in the region since 1940, according to veteran seismologist Lucy Jones, who noted that the area is not on a major fault line and typically experiences smaller tremors. Aftershocks are expected but likely to remain minor.