Hesperia..a dangerous earthquake zone? (San Bernardino, La Quinta: buying a house, buying, construction)

[davattic]

Hello, everyone
I'm considering buying a house in Hesperia because the housing prices has gone down a lot there, and it seems like a good place to live for a non-commuter. One question though. I know the San Andreas fault runs a few miles south of Hesperia, and the fact that southern California hasn't had any catastrophic, major earthquake recently makes me wonder if there will be one in the near future. If that's the case, then Hesperia will be hit pretty hard if not destroyed. Am I being too paranoid or does anyone share the same concern as I do? Thanks,

[Desertrose34]

I don't know for sure. I do know Hesperia sits at a higher altitude and from what I understand even when earth quakes hit you don't feel them like you would down in San Bernardino area.

[bhcompy]

All of so cal is a major earthquake zone.

[Twinkle Toes]

I vote paranoid. Nobody's been swallowed up by a large crevasse in Hesperia yet and thousands of people live there. In fact, I have a house in Hesperia I would like to sell, if you are interested. Newer construction, 5 bedrooms (or 4 and a den), 3 baths, apx. 2500 sq. ft.

[Fontucky]

I'm closer to the San Andreas than Hesperia is. If you choose to live in So Cal, you simply can't allow yourself to have agita over the possibility of a huge earthquake. Have your plan in place for when one does bust loose, then live your normal life. And hope to hell you're not stuck in traffic under some freeway flyover or overpass.... especially the ones at the 5/14 and the 5/210 interchanges.

[ocexpo]

Don't live your life waiting for the disaster. If you like Hesperia, then move there.

[Donn2390]

You must be from out of state. People from California never think or worry about earthquakes. You may have a car accident or your wife might leave you. Worry about it when it happens..
As someone above emntioned, California is an earthquake fault. Nothing to worry about. When they do happen, it is usually a localized area.
Any home you might consider purchasing will come with complete quake information. The realtor will disclose all facts as far as where the nearest fault is, etc. All required stuff in buying California property.
Dismiss it from your mind, buy your home and enjoy life in the Hi desert....

[qballnv]

I live less than a few miles from the San Andreas in the Coachella valley (I'm in La Quinta). I ride my horse along the fault line just about once a week. I know they say there's about a 99 % chance of a major 7.0 magnitude or greater quake striking this part of the state sometime in the next 30 years, but just like one poster already commented, I live here so I really don't dwell on it. I can't. I chose to live here so I'll deal with the temblor when it erupts, hopefully live through it and then go on with my life afterwards. But truthfully, if you know anything about the geology of this state you know that California is one of the most seismically active zones on the planet. We have earthquakes everyday, although most are too small to be felt. And it really doesn't matter where you are in the western hemisphere, from Alaska to Chile, you're at risk. My advice is, buy an earthquake survival kit, adopt a dog or kitty to forewarn you, if you don't already have one(some research suggests animals are more sensitive to tectonic displacement than we are), and don't worry about it. Buy a house, don't buy a house, do whatever you feel is necessary, but ground shaking is just a part of reality here, like when tornados and trailer parks collide in the south! HAHAHA

[Fontucky]

Originally Posted by qballnv

adopt a dog or kitty to forewarn you, if you don't already have one(some research suggests animals are more sensitive to tectonic displacement than we are)

They do know it's coming before it happens, but in my experience, that 2 or 3 seconds doesn't buy you anything. For the Northridge earthquake, I was working outside near a riverbed. There were dogs barking, frogs croaking and birds doing their thing. Then they all shut up at the same time, which was followed 3 seconds later by me being thrown violently to the ground some 8 feet below me. So I had 3 seconds to say to myself "hmmmm, that's weird, I wonder if there's going to be an eart....."

[buckeyenative01]

I always thought anything under 5.0 was kinda fun, provided I wasn't standing near any loose wall hangings.

For the guys here: Ever been taking a pee when an earthquake strikes? Quite the experience...