At 2:42 E.T. there was an earthquake in LA. A blogger confirms it. The LA Times homepage was down briefly. The AP says "Preliminary information from the U.S. Geological Survey estimated the quake at magnitude 5.8, centered 29 miles east-southeast of downtown Los Angeles near Chino Hills." The quake was felt as far away as Las Vegas. [UPDATE: Click to watch a clip of CNN coverage of the quake and its damage]. Some online comments from people who were there, after the jump:

hi my name is alex, i'm 11, i live and newport beach and i just experienced the biggest earthquake i have ever felt. my lights started flickering in my room and i almost fell to the floor. Lot of shaking in Newport Beach and feeling after shocks already!!!! Biggest one I ever felt!!!! im in disney land and they have closed all of the rides and are expecting them now There's no way that that was only a 5.8 earthquake!!!! I live in Temple City, Ca and I was almost knocked out of my chair. It was like I moved sideways (east) and then moved west.BY FEET. Yikes! I thought that a semi hit my house, My cats were doing somersaults It was quite a strong jolt here at the base of the Hollywood hills and lasted for about 30 seconds. Cannot use cell phone, all lines tied up. I've lived through three sizable quakes out here and this was the strongest I've felt.