LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — Millions of Californians — including thousands of Lake County residents — are planning to take part this week in an annual statewide drill meant to prepare participants to respond to a major earthquake.

The Great California ShakeOut will take place as part of International ShakeOut Day on Thursday, Oct. 16.

At 10:16 a.m. (local time) on Oct. 16, participants will join millions of people across California practicing earthquake safety. 

As of Sunday, 52.8 million people worldwide were set to take part, and 10,001,200 participants had registered in the 2025 Great California ShakeOut.

Of those, more than 7,200 are in Lake County, with the largest number — over 5,900 — will be in local schools.

Those who want to register can do so here.

“Everyone, everywhere, should know how to protect themselves during earthquakes, whether they live, work, or travel to an area where earthquakes are common,” explained a statement on the ShakeOut website.

The site also explained, “The goal of ShakeOut is to encourage people and organizations to be prepared to survive and to recover quickly when the next big earthquake happens.”

Participants can either take part on Oct. 16 or set another day to practice the drill.

The Great California ShakeOut website has resources and guides for drills as well as emergency planning to keep safe year-round.

Participation is free and may take only a few minutes, depending on drill plans. Learn more and register to participate at ShakeOut.org.

Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, and on Bluesky, @erlarson.bsky.social. Find Lake County News on the following platforms: Facebook, @LakeCoNews; X, @LakeCoNews; Threads, @lakeconews, and on Bluesky, @lakeconews.bsky.social.