N. Idaho shaken by two 4-plus magnitude quakes; no injuries

SANDPOINT, Idaho (AP) — Two earthquakes — a magnitude 4.1 and a 4.2 — jolted north Idaho on Thursday night, with residents from northeastern Washington to northwestern Montana saying they felt the tremors.

The Bonner County emergency dispatch office in Sandpoint received no reports of injuries from either quake, a dispatcher said. The Forest Service dispatched a crew to check out a Lakeview-area report of downed trees that was believed related to the first quake, the dispatcher added.

The U.S. Geological Survey says the magnitude 4.1 quake hit first, at about 7:32 p.m. It was centered 30 miles northeast of Hayden. The second quake, at about 10:45 p.m., was centered 38 miles north-northeast of Hayden.

Hundreds of people logged onto the USGS National Earthquake Information website to report having felt the quakes.

In Bonners Ferry, about 30 miles north of Sandpoint, Boundary County emergency dispatcher Brad Stalcup said he was among those who felt the first jolt. "I'm in a concrete building and the train tracks are 200 feet away," he said. "I can feel rumble of the train — and this was way more exciting than a train."

In Seattle, Pacific Northwest Seismic Network director John Vidale said the size of the quakes seemed relatively unusual for that part of Idaho.

A magnitude 2.8 quake was recorded at about 8:50 p.m. Thursday, some 20 miles northwest of the central Idaho community of Council.

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