Hours later around midnight, quakes of magnitude 4.0 and 3.6 struck in the same area, the U.S. Geological
Survey reported.

The quakes followed a 3.7-magnitude temblor that also occurred near the Custer County area on Dec. 22 and
numerous smaller recent quakes, according to the USGS website.

Linda Lumpkin, a dispatcher for the sheriff’s office told The Associated Press that everyone there felt
the 4.9 quake, but there were no reports of damage. The earthquake was recorded at 10:44 a.m. Saturday
and was centered about 4 miles east of Challis, a small town of about 1,000 in the center of the state
surrounded by U.S. National Forest land.

The Missoulian (http://bit.ly/1AnLQKK )
reported that rumblings were felt in southwestern Montana’s Bitterroot Valley.

Rock slides blocked lanes on several roads, Lumpkin said. Sheriff’s deputies went out to direct traffic
as the transportation department began cleanup.

Melissa Rosales, a waitress at the Challis Village Inn Motel and Restaurant, said the shaking did not
cause any damage there.

"We had a lot of shaking of pots and pans, but they’re up on hooks so they didn’t go anywhere,"
she said.

Mike Clifford, a manager at the Village Square True Value in Challis, said a few items fell off the
shelves "but no big messes."

"It lasted about 10 seconds," he said.

Clifford said the region has experienced a number of earthquakes in the last few weeks, but nothing
major.

"The ground’s been rattling," he said.

Idaho’s largest recorded earthquake was recorded in the area. The 6.9-magnitude quake hit in 1983 near
12,667-foot Borah Peak, Idaho’s tallest peak.

Also on Saturday, a 3.3-magnitude earthquake hit Mendocino County in northern California, according to
the U.S. Geological Survey. The epicenter of the quake, which struck at 6:44 a.m., was about 8 miles
north of Laytonville, California, the agency said.