Idaho earthquake felt by residents in Flathead, Lincoln counties

Fleeting impressions of a 6.5 magnitude earthquake in Idaho on March 31 captured the attention of residents in Lincoln, Flathead, Missoula and Gallatin counties, according to news reports.

The quake’s tremors were felt also in Washington and Utah.

The Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office received a couple of calls from regional residents describing what they had experienced, reported Undersheriff Brad Dodson.

The U.S. Geological Survey reported that the quake occurred at 5:52 p.m. March 31 “as a result of complex strike slip faulting within the shallow crust of the North American plate.”

USGS said the earthquake occurred “within the Intermountain Seismic Belt, a prominent zone of recorded seismicity in the Intermountain West.”

There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries.

According to USGS, the March 31 quake was the largest in Idaho since the Borah Peak earthquake in 1983, which killed two people in Challis and caused millions of dollars of damage.