# Southern California power outage after action review



## justin_case11 (Sep 14, 2011)

Thursday 8 September 2011 at 3:30 pm everything went dark in Southern California. I was out PT’ing when it first happened, and by the time I found a radio station that was transmitting the news was that it was a system failure and it might be days before power was restored.

I knew that this would be a good practice for a disaster situation so I took notes during the episode and compiled this after action review. I am sharing it to let others draw their own conclusions.

This was a complete power outage all grid electricity was off for San Diego County, portions of Arizona, and Baja Mexico. The following is a list of things that were not functioning: traffic signals, radio stations, trolley mass transit system, data services for cell phones (3G was spotty and eventually died off, 2G was spotty), traffic updates via the SoCal website were dead (they feed popular mapping services such as Google Maps etc), gas stations couldn’t pump gas, those who depended on cable modems DSL modems VOIP phones etc were without internet access and phone service, and all planes were grounded.

I headed home and my normal 20 minute commute took 3 hours. Everyone had the same idea so the streets were jammed and with the traffic lights out it was a mess. Local law enforcement called in all off duty officers and directed traffic at intersections. Those guys were out in the sun sweating due to the heat wave, I handed each one I passed a bottle of water from my stash in the truck. Once on the freeways things moved slowly but smoothly, mainly due to the limiting factor of a slow feed of traffic due to the jams on the surface streets.

Vehicles were abandoned on the medians and shoulders and long lines and crowds of people were waiting at gas stations.

Satellite radio still worked, but two things limited the usefulness. First, the President was addressing the nation and all the news stations were carrying the speech. Second, due to the blackout, news leaving SoCal was extremely limited and the national networks didn’t pick up on the situation for several hours.

I finally found an AM radio station (AM 600 KOGO) that was broadcasting on backup power. They eventually were simulcasting on multiple frequencies to help the radio stations that were not prepared. They reported that San Diego had activated the Emergency Operations Center and advised everyone to stay off the roads. At 6:11 PM they broadcast a press conference from the power utility president addressing the situation.

I made it home and found a local convenience store selling ice, cash only. I bought some ice to save the food in my freezer and returned home. By this time the sun had set and people were blowing through intersections without stopping. 

I checked on an elderly neighbor and settled in at home with my crank powered radio, dog, cigars, water, food, and plenty of guns and ammo.

At 10 PM the mayor addressed the city via AM 600 KOGO and passed the following:
-don’t call 911 unless life threatening emergency
-all flights were cancelled
-sewage was leaking into area rivers and bays
-residents were advised to boil water

The lessons I have drawn from this episode are:
-keep more emergency supplies in vehicle
-gasoline is extremely important
-emergency comm and action plan in case of lost communications

The best things I had were:
-crank powered emergency radio
-solar powered yard lights, I pulled them and used them in the house

The things that didn’t really work as I had thought:
-emergency bands on radio were only broadcasting weather


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## Jason (Jul 25, 2009)

This is a really good write up. It reinforces again how quickly it becomes difficult to move around and accomplish simple daily tasks when there is a hiccup inthe "normal" way of life.

Was there any increase in the area's crime rates?

Overall, do you feel you did well? I know there's always room for improvement, but on the whole, are you satisfied with your/your family's ability to deaql with the situation?

Thank you for sharing this.


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## Jezcruzen (Oct 21, 2008)

Yes, thanks for the report. I haven't heard much about the outage. The social unrest that I anticipated didn't occur, which is good.

Those little solar-powered sidewalk lights really can come in handy. I keep half a dozen just for the purpose you said.


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## Fn/Form (Nov 6, 2008)

What are your plans on gasoline prep?

Also, what would you do if a neighbor's house caught fire and put yours in imminent danger?

What if you/yours needed serious emergency medical attention? 

How "safe" are your supplies if you can't make it home within a day (vehicle accident, helping a friend precludes return, etc.)?


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## kejmack (May 17, 2011)

Thanks for posting this useful info!!!


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## ashley8072 (Apr 26, 2011)

Was the abandoned vehicles due from running out of fuel?


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## justin_case11 (Sep 14, 2011)

Jason said:


> This is a really good write up. It reinforces again how quickly it becomes difficult to move around and accomplish simple daily tasks when there is a hiccup inthe "normal" way of life.
> 
> Was there any increase in the area's crime rates?
> 
> ...


The event itself only lasted about 12 hours. There were sporadic reports of crime in the seedy areas of the county (store front glass windows smashed, etc) but nothing big.

My neighborhood had front yard parties, back yard BBQs, people out walking with flashlights, etc.

Personally, I need more supplies in the vehicle. This was a known issue. I have a large bag with stuff in it, just didn't have it in the vehicle due to a recent trip!

Other than that, I would have a weapon locked in the vehicle. Unfortunately that is not possible at my place of work, although there are many offsetting benefits at my location.

Oh yeah, and I have been known to go below the E on my gas gauge from time to time.


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## justin_case11 (Sep 14, 2011)

ashley8072 said:


> Was the abandoned vehicles due from running out of fuel?


mostly likely although a few had hoods up, possibly overheated in the traffic jam.


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## justin_case11 (Sep 14, 2011)

Fn/Form said:


> What are your plans on gasoline prep?
> 
> Also, what would you do if a neighbor's house caught fire and put yours in imminent danger?
> 
> ...


Those are all very good points, part of the reason I joined this forum!


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## ashley8072 (Apr 26, 2011)

Obviously you didn't need much since you were on your way home, but have you thought about carrying a survival keychain? I've recently made mine and I love making the survival paracord bracelets and keychains. I made a paracord keychain with 3 small bills in it if I would need cash on hand.


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## SnakeDoc (Nov 10, 2009)

ashley8072 said:


> Obviously you didn't need much since you were on your way home, but have you thought about carrying a survival keychain? I've recently made mine and I love making the survival paracord bracelets and keychains. I made a paracord keychain with 3 small bills in it if I would need cash on hand.


Freezing 4 or five gallons of water makes ice for when the power goes out. It buys you time so you aren't in line with the chimpz and can get home quicker.


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## The_Blob (Dec 24, 2008)

justin_case11 said:


> Oh yeah, and I have been known to go below the E on my gas gauge from time to time.


like my pappy says,"son, it's just as easy to keep the top half of the tank full as the bottom half"


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## BillS (May 30, 2011)

It's probably a good idea to keep a few days worth of your medications too if you're on any. I'm on a variety of medications and supplements.


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## Irishjaeger (Aug 18, 2011)

justin_case11 said:


> Thursday 8 September 2011 at 3:30 pm everything went dark in Southern California. I was out PT'ing when it first happened, and by the time I found a radio station that was transmitting the news was that it was a system failure and it might be days before power was restored.
> 
> I knew that this would be a good practice for a disaster situation so I took notes during the episode and compiled this after action review. I am sharing it to let others draw their own conclusions.
> 
> ...


Excellent write up. How was your food/water situation? Also, how long did this outage last total? I don't remember hearing how long it was.


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## justin_case11 (Sep 14, 2011)

Irishjaeger said:


> Excellent write up. How was your food/water situation? Also, how long did this outage last total? I don't remember hearing how long it was.


My food / water situation is decent but improving by the week. Right now I would say I could go a month. That's enough for most run of the mill natural disasters but I am adding to it anyway.

3 hours after the outage started, the word was it could last 2-3 days. They ended up restoring the power overnight.


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## Country Living (Dec 15, 2009)

Excellent write-up.

Besides keeping for food for us, we keep at least six months worth of dried and canned dog food on hand at all time for the dogs. _When_ there is an event (just a matter of time) we don't want to have to worry about feeding us or them.


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