Overwhelmed paramedics are scrambling to offer treatment to the wounded, sorting through the casualty toll and deciding who will live and who will die.

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger somberly briefs reporters from the eye of the disaster zone, as chaos swirls around him.

Californians were given a glimpse of the "Big One" here Thursday, as millions across the state participated in the largest earthquake drill in US history.

Though only a simulation, those taking part in the exercise in this northern Los Angeles suburb were only too willing to get into character.

"All my friends are gone!" wails Bobby Littrell, 16, one of hundreds of students from Bishop Alemany High School evacuated to a sports field next to a nearby hospital that has been converted into an open-air triage center.

"I was in my class and the window shattered on my arm," Littrell adds. "I will survive and I'll have a pretty cool scar. I'm taking this very seriously. I trust the firefighters with my life."

Scattered all around are "victims," lying unconscious and bloodied as dozens of Los Angeles firefighters work frantically against the deafening background noise of generators and thudding helicopter rotor blades.

As in any other disaster zone, paradmedics are prioritizing the casualties, working out who is need of immediate treatment and who is beyond help.

Victims are color-coded and filtered to different treatment areas.

Those with a green sticker are classified as walking wounded; a yellow sticker means injuries are serious but not life threatening; a red sticker means treat immediately. A black sticker and the victim is sent to the morgue.

Thursday's drill aimed to replicate the aftermath of a 7.8 magnitude earthquake on the San Andreas Fault that leaves 1,800 dead and 53,000 injured.

"Our intention is not to scare anybody, but we want to thoroughly educate them on how important it is to be self-sufficient from three to five days, we can't stress that enough," said fire captain Armando Hogan.

For Sophia Zacharczuk, 17, who is pretending to nurse a cut head and a bashed chest, the drill has been useful. Zacharczuk believes that it is only a matter of time before a major earthquake strikes in Los Angeles.

"I feel that it's really a good exercise, we're gonna need to learn how to handle it when it really happens, because it will happen," she told AFP.

"I'm impressed that everybody is getting involved, it's really going to be helpful. I don't think about it too often, but when I really think about it, it really, really scares me, because you can't predict it."

Alex Ramirez, 17, who comes from a family of firefighters, said he was aware of the chaos that followed the last major earthquake to hit Los Angeles, the Northridge incident in 1994 that claimed more than 70 lives.

"In '94 we weren't prepared and lots of people were injured," he said. "I have a lot of confidence in firefighters."

Firefighters treating "victims" on Thursday were under no illusions about the scale of the task that would face them in the event of a real earthquake.

"There has been training, but there's one thing between doing it in an exercise and doing it in real life," said Los Angeles Fire Department captain Steve Owens.

"When you're overwhelmed and you only have a certain amount of time, you're gonna try to save as many people as you really can."

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