Yucca Valley

A magnitude 4.4 aftershock of the June 28 Landers earthquake struck an area 14 miles north-northwest of Yucca Valley on Tuesday, Caltech seismologists said. It was the strongest aftershock in four days. No damage was reported.

A mild earthquake shook the Yucca Valley area, one of the thousands of aftershocks of the 1992 Landers temblor. There were no reports of damage or injuries, said San Bernardino County sheriff's deputies. The 4:45 p.m. quake had a preliminary magnitude of 3.2 and its epicenter was 18 miles north of Yucca Valley, said Caltech seismologist Jim Mori. The 7.6-magnitude Landers quake and its 6.

A magnitude 4.5 aftershock to the Landers earthquake rolled through this San Bernardino County community Tuesday night, but no damage or injuries were reported, authorities said. The 8:10 p.m. aftershock was centered 34 miles northeast of Yucca Valley, according to Caltech seismologist Egill Hauksson in Pasadena. The magnitude 7.3 Landers quake on June 28, 1992, was followed a few hours later by a magnitude 6.5 quake in the Big Bear area.

Yucca Valley, a school that opened in 1968, will make its first appearance in a Southern Section basketball championship game tonight, playing Maricopa for the girls' Small Schools title at 7:30 at Taft High. Yucca Valley, top-seeded in the playoffs with a 24-2 record, starts three juniors and two sophomores and went undefeated in De Anza League play for the second straight season. Forwards Becky Geeson and Hilary Brown are averaging 20 points each this season.

A small earthquake near this Mojave Desert community resulted in no immediate reports of injuries or damage. The temblor registered 4.3 on the Richter scale and was centered nine miles northeast of Yucca Valley, said Riley Geary, a seismic analyst at Caltech in Pasadena. It was a possible aftershock of the 6.1 magnitude Joshua Tree earthquake that rocked Southern California on April 22, causing dozens of minor injuries.

A man described by authorities as a transient and parole violator was arrested late Monday on suspicion of killing three people in this small desert town in San Bernardino County. Police arrested Mark Fitzwater, 37, after he led the California Highway Patrol on a brief chase on a motorcycle in Joshua Tree and then tried to hide inside a house.

A San Bernardino County Superior Court judge has rebuffed Wal-Mart's plan for a supercenter in the desert town of Yucca Valley, partly on the grounds that the giant retailer failed to take measures to reduce its impact on global warming. Environmentalists had been pressuring Wal-Mart to install solar panels to provide electricity for its proposed 184,000-square-foot store.

A fire near the San Bernardino County community of Pioneertown was fully contained Sunday afternoon after burning about 1,800 acres of desert brush since Saturday, fire officials said. Authorities called the fire, which burned at the edge of the San Bernardino National Forest, the first major blaze of the new fire season. No major injuries or damage were reported, and the cause of the blaze is still being investigated, California Department of Forestry spokesman Mark Streck said Sunday.

Jerome Facione made 4 free throws in the final 20 seconds to lead El Dorado High School to a 76-74 victory over Yucca Valley in the first round of the Brea-Olinda boys' basketball tournament Tuesday. Facione ended with 13 points. Mike Bradach scored 25 and Matt Luke 23 to lead El Dorado, which will play St. Paul today at 3 in the second round. Yucca Valley plays Foothill today at 11:30 in the consolation round. In other Brea-Olinda tournament games: St.

Yucca Valley (26-2) advanced to the Girls Division III final with another low-scoring victory Wednesday night, this time defeating Holtville, 39-29, at Imperial Valley College. Becky Geeson had 14 points to lead the Southern Section Small Schools champion. Yucca Valley's opponent in the final will be Woodlake (23-2), which defeated Escondido Calvin Christian, 48-28, at Mt. Whitney High School. The Division III final is scheduled for Saturday morning at the Sports Arena.