3.3 magnitude earthquake strikes near Crockett, jolts Bay Area residents

CROCKETT, Calif. (KGO) -- Bay Area residents experienced quite a jolt this afternoon. A 3.3 earthquake was centered just north of Crockett. In the tiny town and beyond, just about everyone felt the same thing, but no one was quite sure what it was.

"I live in a fourplex so I thought maybe somebody did something upstairs or something," said Crockett resident Robbie Miller.

"We were sitting having a beverage and we thought a diesel or something had ran into the building," said Candace Garcia, who lives in Martinez.

Residents said what set this temblor apart was that there was no rumbling, just one quick jolt.

"It sounded like a big bang and I've been through earthquakes before and I didn't think it was an earthquake because it didn't really roll. It just banged and I thought it was an explosion," said Patty Forry of Crockett.

The U.S. Geological Survey said this latest quake was on the southern end of the West Napa Fault, the same fault zone as the 2014 Napa Quake. But unlike 2014, this latest event was quite small.

"The motion itself was rather short-lived and so the fault moved briefly and stopped, so it generated more of a pulse," said Brian Kilgore, a geophysicist with the United States Geological Survey.

There were no reports of injuries and at J&L Market in Crockett only a few items got knocked off the shelves. But it made for lively conversation for the rest of the day.

"They would walk in the door and say, 'Did you feel that?'" said Cynthia Scheafer, assistant manager at J&L Market.

And for everyone else, the quake was a reminder that the big one could come at any time.

"I always try to have cases of water bottles in my garage and try to be prepared as much as you can," Vallejo resident Sara Winston said.