Los Angeles – Utility workers connected the wrong wires and caused a blackout across major portions of Los Angeles today afternoon, trapping people in elevators and snarling traffic at intersections, authorities said.
Hundreds of thousands of people were affected by the resulting power surge and outages, which were reported from downtown west to the Pacific Coast and north into the San Fernando Valley.
Several workers who were installing an automated transmission system connected the wrong wires, according to Ron Deaton, general manager of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power.
“They connected it to another line that was not expecting that much electricity,” he said. No injuries were reported.
Some power was restored within an hour; Deaton said he expected all power to be restored by 5 p.m.
The Police Department went on “full tactical alert,” meaning no officers were allowed to leave work when their shifts were over.
Some Los Angeles neighborhoods did not lose power at all, and electricity was restored in some areas within an hour.
Calm prevailed in downtown Los Angeles around midday. Office workers took the opportunity for an extended lunch as police and fire sirens echoed in the background.
Los Angeles International Airport lost power, but its emergency generator kicked in promptly and no flights were affected, said Harold Johnson, an airport spokesman. UCLA Medical Center used backup generators and reported no danger to patients.
The blackout came a day after ABC aired a videotape of a purported al-Qaeda member making terrorist threats against Los Angeles and Melbourne, Australia, on the fourth anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks.
Los Angeles operates its own power utility, which serves 1.4 million electricity customers. Customers of Southern California Edison, the largest utility in Southern California, were not affected, according to spokesman Gil Alexander.
Katie Cerio, a stylist for TV commercials, said traffic lights were out in the Torrance neighborhood.
“They’ve got people directing traffic, but it’s definitely a bit chaotic,” Cerio said as she drove. “But now I just entered West Hollywood and the traffic lights seems to be on.” At the downtown YMCA, staff used flashlights to help usher exercisers from the pool and other areas to locker rooms so they could dress before leaving.
