NATURE'S FURY POUNDS CALIFORNIA
EARTHQUAKE, SNOW, SLEET, WINDS SPREAD DEATH AND HAVOC

A sharp earthquake rattled Southern California a day after snow and sleet blanketed the fire-blackened region, while hurricane-force winds pounded northern California, cutting power to hundreds of thousands and leading to three children's deaths.

The winds, clocked at up to 102 mph, died down Thursday night, shortly before the temblor hit 500 miles to the southeast in a state suffering in recent weeks from a relentless attack of nature's worst elements.The northerly winds fanned fires, uprooted trees and overturned trucks. More than 575,000 Pacific Gas & Electric Co. customers lost power Wednesday night and Thursday, said utility spokeswoman Jan Stewart. By late Thursday, 22,000 remained without electricity.

In Southern California, two people died as dozens of cars crashed Thursday in 10 accidents along ice-slick Interstate 15 in the Cajon Pass 55 miles east of Los Angeles, said Highway Patrol spokesman John Savage.

"One of the problems is here we don't have the snow equipment to take care of this - it doesn't happen here," said Highway Patrol Officer Frank Stricker.

Snow up to 7 inches deep closed southbound lanes of Interstate 5 over Tejon Pass north of Los Angeles, California's main north-south route, and coastal Highway 101 near San Luis Obispo, about 150 miles north of the city.

Thousands of motorists were stranded, travel elsewhere was difficult and some schools in San Luis Obispo County were closed, officials said.

The earthquake late Thursday rattled windows and knocked wall hangings askew from Los Angeles to Palm Springs 110 miles to the east. There were no immediate

reports of serious damage or injuries.

The quake registered a moderate 4.8 on the Richter scale and was centered 13 miles northwest of Palm Springs, said Hall Daly, a spokesman for California Institute of Technology in Pasadena.

Just a week earlier the Los Angeles Basin was swept by warm, fierce Santa Ana winds. Wind-fanned fires burned dozens of homes in two suburbs Dec. 8 and blackened 3,000 acres of brushy terrain the next day.

In northern California, power outages led to two deadly candle-sparked fires, officials said. In Berkeley, 3-year-old Oli Asghar died Thursday and his family was left homeless.

In Pittsburg, about 30 miles to the north, 6-year-old Mounkoun Lee died late Wednesday of smoke inhalation after he was trapped inside his burning home. His 5-year-old sister, Angela, died at Children's Hospital on Thursday night.