A yell and a cheer rose up from the Crown & Anchor Pub in Thousand Oaks Friday evening as a sharp 4.4 magnitude earthquake rolled through minutes after 6 p.m.
It definitely got everyones attention, Russ Parkes, whose family owns the British restaurant and pub on East Thousand Oaks Boulevard, said minutes after the temblor struck.
The quake shook the large bay window along the front of the restaurant and the neon sign hanging in it, Parkes said.
At Jacks Restaurant & Deli, about a mile away on South Westlake Boulevard in Westlake Village, it was a similar story.
The bottles started shaking at the bar and it took a second or two for everyone to realize we were having an earthquake, said Alexxis Ames, a hostess at the restaurant.
The quake struck at 6:11 p.m. and was centered in the Santa Monica Mountains around Westlake Village, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
It came as tens of thousands were making their way home from work. No major injuries or damage were immediately reported.
Weve gotten some phone calls mostly from people who want to know more about what happened, said Capt. Patti Salas of the Ventura County Sheriffs Department.
The earthquake felt like a sharp strong jolt at the Westlake Village Inn on Agoura Road, said Jennifer Griega, who worked at the front desk.
Griega said some of inns guests called the front desk to confirm that what theyd felt was in fact an earthquake instead of some other disaster.
This being California, none of them were surprised to learn it was an earthquake, Griega said.
The quake was felt as far north as Lancaster in the Mojave Desert to southern Orange County, according to online resident reports gathered by the USGS.
Kerstin Edwards, who lives a few miles from the quakes epicenter in Westlake Village, said she felt the temblor while she was upstairs in her house. She noticed no damage.
It started off as a strong jolt, Edwards said. Its definitely one of the bigger ones Ive felt. At the Bellavino Wine Bar in Westlake Village, owner Richard Belloff said a couple people attending a dinner party reported feeling the quake but several others didnt notice. Everyone is drinking and partying, and we didnt see the glasses move or anything, Belloff said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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