After a magnitude 6.0 earthquake struck early Sunday morning in California's northern Bay Area, B.C. authorities are hoping it will remind local residents that they should be preparing for such a calamity as well.

The California quake hit the wine country destinations of Napa and Sonoma the hardest. Gas lines broke, fires ignited and tens of thousands of residents were cut off from power, all prompting the governor to declare a state of emergency.

News of the quake, the biggest to hit the region since 1989's Loma Prieta temblor — made especially memorable and horrific by the collapse of a double-decked section of Interstate 80 — will inevitably generate some anxiety for people living near other fault lines and seismic zones to the north.

As news of another destructive West Coast quake comes in, some in B.C. wonder when 'the Big One' will hit home. This rendering of a view from downtown Vancouver, looking east past the Woodward's tower, shows some of the imagined damage a large local earthquake could cause. (CBC)

In B.C., government agencies hope that worry can be channelled into preparation.

Hours before the North Bay quake struck, dozens of community-minded volunteers in Vancouver were getting ready for the Big One at a natural disaster response training session sponsored by the City of Vancouver.

Dozens of volunteers participated in a mock disaster response training day Saturday, Aug. 23, 2014, at the Vancouver Fire and Rescue Service's training facility off Chess Street in the False Creek flats. (CBC)

On Saturday, at the staged natural disaster site, the volunteers helped coordinate the rescue of dummies from burning cars and actors from collapsed buildings.

The city is building a network of hyperlocal help called NEAT, which stands for Neighbourhood Emergency Assistance Team, and intends to have these trained volunteers able to carry out basic first aid and assist first responders with situational assessments.

Dozens of volunteers participated in a mock disaster response training day in Vancouver Saturday 2:23

For more information on earthquake preparedness and earthquakes in B.C., check out some of these CBC B.C. stories: