AKIPRESS.COM - Southern California was hit by its strongest earthquake in two decades on Thursday, BBC reports.

The epicentre of the 6.4 magnitude tremor was near the city of Ridgecrest, which is about 150 miles (240 km) north-east of Los Angeles.

Firefighters provided medical assistance and dealt with fires in and around the city on Friday.

People from the Mojave Desert to the Pacific coast reported feeling the quake, which hit on Independence Day.

There was significant damage in Ridgecrest, which lies south-west of the epicentre, local geophysicist Professor John Rundle told the BBC.

He added that it was fortunate the had quake happened far away from major population centres.

Roads were cracked and broken and power lines fell to the ground after the earthquake, which also shattered glass and cracked the walls of some homes in the region.