In Wendover, Utah, Humberto Cervantes was putting on his shoes and getting ready for work when he felt the quake at his apartment near the airport.

"The whole building was shaking," said Cervantes, who lived in Los Angeles for several years and has plenty of experience with temblors. "It was a little bit strong, even for here."

At a casino just a stone's throw across the state line, everyone among a busload of people outside a casino said they felt the quake. One man was playing the slots when his machine started to shake. A little farther down the road at the Desert Discount Liquor Store, where there are a lot of bottles on the shelves, not one fell to the ground.

Aftershock

Aftershocks have people on edge.

At Donna's Ranch, a legal brothel on the outskirts of town, employees crowded into a doorjamb for safety during the quake. Above it, a long crack is visible. Outside, the building's facade is destroyed.

"I've been traumatized all day," said a woman named Carmella. For much of the day, she huddled in the cold outside, afraid of aftershocks. "I was too scared to come back in here," she said.

She is not alone.

As a 4.6 magnitude aftershock struck Wells late Thursday afternoon, people bolted outside into the cold winter air, believing they would be safer.

"You alright? Need some help?" Yvonne Stuart asked her friend, Pam Kaplan as they encountered each other next to a damaged building.

"We're OK for the moment," Kaplan replied. "We're just waiting to see what happens next."

"If you need a place to stay, you can come stay with us," Stuart offered..

"We're OK. If we get the cats out, we'll be better off, but it's OK," Kaplan said, her voice finding some resolve. "We're OK."

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E-mail: bwinslow@desnews.com; sspeckman@desnews.com