Local earthquake spans rumors, pranks

WORLAND – A 4.2 earthquake south of Ten Sleep and 39 miles east of Thermopolis on Friday at 5:11 p.m. almost immediately spawned rumors and speculation on social media, as residents reported feeling the quake and recorded the effects.

“We had several reports of people feeling it down here, but no real reports of damage,” said Hot Springs County Emergency Management Coordinator Bill Gordon.

As residents traded reports of the earthquake, the Casper Planet (a satirical Facebook page) reported that “A 4.2 earthquake just struck Thermopolis thirty minutes ago. The earthquake opened up the earth below Boysen Reservoir, draining the lake in less the 25 minutes. The lake sits at the mouth of the famed Wind River Canyon. We have a field reporter on the way to the scene.”

The posting was a joke.

“I certainly don’t see it as a joke, as people could have been frightened by it,” said Gordon, who immediately sent out an alert that no damage had been done to Boysen Dam.

“Jokes like that can get people hurt,” said Gordon. “Besides, it would take a much bigger quake to damage things. Everything is fine.”

There were no reports of injuries or damages from the quake that was reportedly felt as far north as Greybull.

The Unites State Geological Service has recorded 716 earthquakes of varying severity in Wyoming over the last year, with Friday’s the only one reaching 4.2.

The last major earthquake in the state was in 1959, when a 7.2 quake was reported with an epicenter in Yellowstone National Park.