Unprecedented outage left millions in the dark

All schools closed in San Diego County on Friday

Downtown was dark as the sun set but many people continued to enjoy themselves downtown in the Gaslamp quarter. At the Restaurant La Strada, diners used cell phones to see the menu and sign the bills on their credit card. Here Ellen and David Livingston read the bill at La Strada with their cellphone light.
— Sean M. Haffey

Downtown was dark as the sun set but many people continued to enjoy themselves downtown in the Gaslamp quarter. At the Restaurant La Strada, diners used cell phones to see the menu and sign the bills on their credit card. Here Ellen and David Livingston read the bill at La Strada with their cellphone light.
— Sean M. Haffey

Lorena Salgado and Stuart Marsland of San Diego wait at the Southwest Airlines counter at San Diego International Airport for a flight to Las Vegas on Thursday, Sept. 8, 2011. The airport closed for the night due to a massive ...
— K.C. Alfred

Good summaritan Dave Eminhizer decided to direct traffic at the intersection of Rancho Bernardo Road and Bernardo Center Drive during a power outage on Thursday in San Diego, California.
— Eduardo Contreras

Good Samaritan Dave Eminhizer decided to direct traffic at the intersection of Rancho Bernardo Road and Bernardo Center Drive during a power outage on Thursday in San Diego, California.
— Eduardo Contreras

San Diego Trolley passengers stranded on a trolley that stopped just after passing the Linda Vista Station when the power went out at 3:40 p.m., walk along the trolley tracks as they near the Old Town Transit Center.
— Howard Lipin

Passengers Tenisha Ross, 17, and Daniel Contreras, 17, wait while stranded on an electric trolley that became disabled in La Mesa. About 90 passengers were stranded and eventually evacuated from the trolley, instructed to take nearby city buses instead. San ...
— James Gregg

Matthew Madrid (left) and Moses Madrid enjoy their dinner at Pho Ca Dao and Grill, a Vietnamese restaurant, in Rancho Bernardo during a power outage on Thursday in San Diego, California.
— Eduardo Contreras

Customers walk to the Sheraton Harbor Island after a massive power outage shut down the county on Thursday, Sept. 8, 2011. The Sheraton was booked to capacity and had some backup power that allowed their restuarants and bars to stay ...
— K.C. Alfred

Cristo Djermanaski wipes his eyes while stranded for more than an hour and a half when the city trolley he was rideing on became disabled in La Mesa. About 90 passengers were stranded and directed to take nearby city buses ...
— James Gregg

San Diego MTS Trolley passengers make their way to city buses after being evacuated from a disabled trolley in La Mesa. About 90 passengers on the trolley were evacuated after waiting over an jour and a half on the tracks. ...
— James Gregg

Customers gather outside of Joe's Bargain Store in City Heights in hopes that the store will open so that they can buy candles, food and water. The store closed it's doors shortly before sundown. San Diego County experienced a massive ...
— James Gregg

Employees, clients and family members hang out outside of Headhunters Salon in La Mesa, power went out in Headhunters Salon in La Mesa. With no electricity, they would lose over $500 in business that afternoon, owner Erica Hunter said. San ...
— James Gregg

Cierra Lewis lifts her child Jasaih Lewis up in the air as they stay outdoors to escape the heat of ther La Mesa apartment. With no electricity for fans or air conditioning, residents preferred the fresh air in an effort ...
— James Gregg

Jerry McCullough, 65, sits outside of his La Mesa apartment to escape the heat of his upstairs unit. With no electricity for fans or air conditioning, many residents of his apartment complex preferred the outdoors to stay cool. San Diego ...
— James Gregg

A customer has a drink at a bar at the Sheraton Harbor Island after a massive power outage shut down the county on Thursday, Sept. 8, 2011. The Sheraton was booked to capacity and had some backup power that allowed ...
— K.C. Alfred

Stranded passengers Kristy Karpaty, and Gerardo Lopez use plug to charge their phones at the Sheraton Harbor Island after a massive power outage shut down the county on Thursday, Sept. 8, 2011. The two were traveling on Southwest Airlines flights ...
— K.C. Alfred

A widespread power outage led to controlled chaos Thursday throughout San Diego County, Baja California, part of Arizona and other areas as about 5 million people coped with the sudden loss of electricity. San Diego Gas & Electric officials said the power system is still fragile even as the power is back on in this region.

The outage began at 3:38 p.m. after a 500-kilovolt high-voltage transmission line from Arizona to California failed, triggering a cascade of events that then knocked the San Onofre nuclear power plant offline. Those are the two major power sources for the region.

SDG&E said 1.4 million of its customers in San Diego and Orange counties were affected, as well as residents east into Arizona and south into Baja California. The power failure led to school and business closures, suspended water service in some areas, flight cancellations, blacked-out traffic lights, silent radio stations and trapped elevator passengers. Public schools throughout the county and several higher-education institutions are closed Friday.

Power came back on in Orange County and small pockets of San Diego County by late Thursday evening, with the restoration occurring first in outlying areas of the San Diego region as roughly 115 power substations were rebooted one by one.

Blackout tips

Keep refrigerators closed. An unopened fridge will keep food cold for about four hours; a full freezer will keep food cold about 48 hours.

Turn off and unplug large electronics. Wait until the power is back on to restart them.

Stay home and off the roads if possible.

Keep landlines and cell phones open for emergency calls.

There were no significant reports of crime although some outage-related traffic accidents happened throughout the county. San Diego police put more officers on the street to help direct and monitor traffic, respond to calls and keep an eye out for looters who may want to take advantage of the dark.

Mike Niggli, president and chief operating officer for San Diego Gas & Electric, said he found out about the power failure at the same time as everyone else.

"The lights in the office went out with no warning at all," he said. "I started at SDG&E in 1971 and I have never been in a situation like this."

The investigation into the cause of the power failure could take months, utility experts said. At this point, the Arizona Public Service utility company said the outage began after one of its employees performed a procedure on the North Gila-Hassayampa transmission line near Yuma, Arizona.

“Essentially we have two connections to the rest of the world — one to the north and one to the east — and both of those connections were severed,” Niggli said. “We actually don’t know what happened to the line. All we know is the line went out.”

The power failure threw a wrench in the everyday life of a modern society that is heavily dependent on electricity. Commerce ground to a halt as gas stations and other businesses closed their doors. Residents familiar with breezy San Diego temperatures scrambled to buy ice and other comforts to cope with a continuing heat wave.