USGS will use low-flying plane in area starting Saturday

Starting Saturday, Spokane and North Idaho residents may notice a plane flying very low throughout the area. Don’t be alarmed - it’s a contractor hired by the U.S. Geological Survey to measure the Earth’s magnetic field, according to a USGS news release. The flights will take place for about a month. The project will “identify hidden geologic features, such as changes in rock types,” the release said. One possible outcome is to map shallow faults that caused a series of small earthquakes in the city in 2001. USGS contracted with Edcon-PRJ of Lakewood, Colorado, which specializes in this kind of work.