3.9-magnitude earthquake hits near Baldwin Hills

BALDWIN HILLS, LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 3.9 hit the greater Los Angeles area early Sunday morning, waking residents.

The quake struck at about 4:07 a.m. about one mile east southeast of Baldwin Hills and had a depth of about 6 miles, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

Residents in Inglewood, Downey, South Los Angeles, Huntington Beach, Hawthorne, Beverly Hills and downtown Los Angeles reported feeling the earthquake.

Los Angeles firefighters assessed more than 470 square miles of Los Angeles and found no damage or injuries.

"Any time the ground shakes in Los Angeles, the fire department goes into what we call 'earthquake mode,' and then they go out and survey their districts and that covers, actually in total, 470 square miles. So what these firefighters are serving is areas of concern, such as large places of assemblage whether that's going to be Dodgers Stadium, or a university. They'll look at transportation infrastructure, because we have 11 major freeways that run through Los Angeles," said Los Angeles City Fire spokesman Erik Scott.

Sunday's earthquake was the third temblor within the past month near the Newport-Inglewood fault. A 3.5-magnitude earthquake hit the same area on April 12 and a 3.4-magnitude earthquake was recorded there on April 30.

USGS officials say Sunday's earthquake was a little different and relatively shallow.

"This one, this morning, it's in the same general area. It's in the greater fault zone, but it's showing a different type of stress. There's a less than 10 percent chance of a large aftershock from an earthquake of this size," said USGS seismologist Valerie Thomas.

Firefighters say it does serve as a good reminder for everyone to get ready and be prepared.