Smaller earthquakes were recorded from the 1920s through the 1980s , but the next big earthquake to strike Ferndale was actually three big earthquakes . The first " Best of the West " festival parade was in progress on April 25 when the first of three shocks of the 1992 Cape Mendocino earthquakes arrived , shattering the glass windows of the stores out onto Main Street . The brick facade of Valley Grocery collapsed , and police estimated damage to 80 percent of the downtown buildings . Between 30 and 40 houses were knocked off their foundations from the first shock which was centered about south of Eureka and had a magnitude of 7.2 . The other two large earthquakes that hit within 18 hours of the first shock , measured magnitude 6.5 and 6.7 . Both a large landslide and several small landslides occurred on the Mattole Road which also cracked due to downhill slumping and soil compaction of the road shoulders . Damages in Ferndale were estimated at $ 10.4 million
1992 Cape Mendocino earthquakes
1992 Cape Mendocino earthquakes
Ferndale, California