In the early morning hours of January 17th, 1994, a 6.7 magnitude earthquake rumbled through Southern California. The epicenter was in the city of Reseda, a neighborhood nestled within the San Fernando Valley, just south of Northridge which received superior damage. The initial thrust struck at 4:31 AM and lasted between 10-20 seconds. Map of southern California cities impacted by 17 Jan 1994 Northridge earthquake; USGS/ESRI. I was 8 years old at the time, living in Gardena, 30 miles south of its origin. My bedroom was in the northwest corner of our 2-story house, facing the street. I was woken up in bed by a severe jolt followed by several more of them (there was no rolling or wave-like sensation with this earthquake). The house shook back and forth a bit, and then the transformer on the utility pole up the street blew up, and sparks were flying everywhere (which I could see from my bedroom window). My sister's bedroom was down the hall from mine (the northeast corner of the fron...