I heard about this blackout from a family member who lives North of the affected area.  It obviously created quite a stir for 1.4 million people to lose power in a sprawling metropolis like San Diego.  But apparently it reached all the way to Rosarito, Mexico and into Yuma, Arizona.   

Thankfully it seems that power has begun to be restored slowly and it will not be a long lasting power outage.  I have seen firsthand the panic that begins to set in after a power outage lasts several days.  A storm in Columbus, Ohio a few years ago knocked out power to the 15th largest city in the U.S.  

The store shelves were empty within a couple days as hundreds of thousands ran out of frozen food.   The stores threw out tons of food instead of giving it away to those who might be in need.  This was to avoid a law suit that might result from food gone bad because of no refrigeration.

This is just an example of how unprepared society is for major events like these.  What if the power was cut intentionally for a week or more?  Can you imagine the effect it would have on a huge metropolis.  This is a good reminder to be prepared with emergency food resources, batteries, and lights.  If you have not done this yet please consider preparing for the possibility.

The Strong Watchman

ABC News Reports - A single worker's error led to a massive power outage that swept across Arizona, Southern California and Mexico, left millions of people in the dark and brought major West Coast cities to a standstill, according to a local power company.

The North Gila-Hassayampa 500 kV transmission line near Yuma, Ariz. was tripped offline when a single APS employee was carrying out a procedure in the North Gila substation, according to Arizona Power Service.

Typically, in such an instance, the outage would be isolated to the Yuma area. The investigation is now focusing on the reason that did not occur in this case, APS said Thursday.  Read the rest of the ABC News Report Here

http://abcnews.go.com/US/electrical-worker-blamed-leaving-millions-power-california-arizona/story?id=14478198

NBC News - Source: Black Thursday: Power Comes Back Slowly | NBC San Diego

As night fell in San Diego County, millions of residents were left in the dark, wondering when power would return after a failure in the system created a cascade effect, knocking electricity out all the way to Orange County and down into Mexio.

A glimmer of hope came in the darkness when San Diego Gas & Electric officials announced power was slowly returning, with some customers' service restored Thursday night. They said they hoped the majority of county resident would be back up by Friday afternoon. In the interim, they urged everyone to turn off whatever appliances they could so the system would not be overtaxed when power came back online.

By 8 p.m., officials were reporting that power had been restored to parts of Oceanside, Eastlake and the Chula Vista community of Bonita.

San Diego Mayor Jerry Sander held a media conference at 8 p.m., saying that as a precautionary measure prompted by problem with water pumps, city residents living in the communities of Otay Mesa, Scripps Ranch, La Jolla, Mount Soledad, Tierresanta and Scripps Ranch were under a mandatory boil-water order.

Officials said late in the day that no serious injuries had been attributed to the outage. Area hospitals were all operating normally, with power supplied on backup generators.

Sanders also said the police department had added extra patrols, and he notified residents that the fire department was at full staffing.

Water issues were also paramount at several communities that were located far from pumping stations. Residents of Fallbrook, Ramona, Valley Center, and Coronado were being urged to conserve water in whatever ways possible.

County and city officials announced late in the day that public schools were being closed on Friday, even if power returns. Parents of children who attend private schools were urged to contact educators before taking students to class.

Authorities at San Diego State said classes were tentatively planned to resume on Friday, though it was possible that they, too, would be canceled.

The outage was triggered after a 500-kilovolt (kV) high-voltage line from Arizona to California tripped out of service, according to the California Independent System Operator. The transmission outage cut the flow of imported power into the most southern portion of California, resulting in widespread outages in the region.

SDG&E said crews repaired the problem and were in the process of restarting the system but it would take several hours to actually generate power to customers.

"We expect power to be out well into the night and into tomorrow in some areas," a spokesman for the utility said shortly before 5 p.m.

At the San Onofre Nuclear Power Plant, two units went off line around 3:38 p.m. The shutdown was part of standard procedure during a power outage, Southern California Edison said.

The shutdown was proceeding "safely" and "poses no danger to workers or the public," Edison said in a statement. "Offsite power is available for the plant's safety systems."

The FBI and SDG&E officials said the power outage was not related to a terror threat that officials notified the nation about at nearly the same time.

Earlier in the day, Sander's office asked people to stay off roads and to not use land-line phones.

San Diego City Hall was voluntarily evacuated after the outage. Some people were trapped in elevators inside the building but were later freed by firefighters.

William Burke, with MTS security, said transit officials were trying to get buses moving as quickly as possible to take passengers to their destinations. They're trying to mobilize the buses as quickly as possible to get passengers "home before dark." Trolleys, of course, are powered by electricity and all service was out.

The San Diego border along Mexico remained open, operating under backup power, authorities with the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol said.

San Diego's international airport remained open during the blackout, but no outbound flights were taking off. Some inbound flights were delayed or diverted, officials said.

San Diego State University closed for the day, and local schoolchildren around the county were dismissed as well. No injuries from the school were reported.

A woman who identified herself on Twitter as Lisa, Tweeted just past 6 p.m.: " At a wedding in Fallbrook, no electricity and they are delaying ceremonies hoping for power."

Roads and freeways became congested throughout the county after traffic lights went out, but the commute was a nightmare for thousands.

Things were not so serious in some spots, though. In the Gaslamp, for example, many bars remained open for "blackout parties," with people passing the night in the company of their fellow "sufferers. There was little traffic in the streets, with laughter heard on many street corners where passers-by were overheard sharing their stories.

Source: Black Thursday: Power Comes Back Slowly | NBC San Diego