KTLA

Small Town of Trona Is Hit Hard by Earthquakes; 50 Structures Damaged

An emergency response team member walks with a Trona resident as she sorts through the rubble of her home on July 6, 2019. (Credit: Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

Fire officials say as many as 50 structures in the small town of Trona were damaged by the magnitude 7.1 earthquake Friday night in Southern California.

In addition, San Bernardino County Supervisor Robert Lovingood said Saturday that damaged water lines prompted FEMA to deliver a tractor-trailer full of bottled water to the town, and firefighters were checking numerous reports of gas leaks.

The town was temporarily cut off after the earthquake, when officials shut down a highway connecting Trona to Ridgecrest because of rockslides and cracks in the roadway.

A crack is seen on Highway 178 in Trona on July 6, 2019.(Credit: RMG News)

Julia Doss, who maintains the Trona Neighborhood Watch page on Facebook, said residents reported that chimneys and entire walls collapsed during the quake.

She said the only food store in town has been shuttered.

The hardscrabble town with 1,500 residents on the edge of a dry lake bed is considered the gateway to Death Valley.

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