Follow LA Observed on Twitter here
Much of Los Angeles has been without electricity since just after 1 p.m. (it's now 1:50). The DWP can't yet say what happened. Traffic lights are out in parts of downtown, the Valley and the Westside at least, so be careful driving. Radio stations went off the air temporarily, cell phone coverage is spotty, and numerous people are apparently trapped in elevators. Santa Monica and many areas not served by the city Department of Water and Power are not affected. (I'm holed up in the Starbucks on Ocean Park, where no one even notices the blackout next door in L.A.)
** Updates:
• The first AP story says that the LAPD has gone on full tactical alert, but there is no official suspicion of foul play or terrorist activity. Two power surges preceeded the blackout.
• KNX radio was off the air about ten minutes and is back using emergency power. Radio is doing a good job of reminding drivers that when the traffic lights are dark at intersections—as they are right now at hundreds of intersections, if not thousands—treat it like a four-way stop. Now if only Starbucks had a radio...
• Los Angeles Fire Department spokesman Jim Wells: "It's a widespread power disruption."
• DWP: "We think it's a transmission problem." [Ya think?]
• Good lesson in why it's smart to keep a cheap phone around the house that gets its power from the phone jack, instead of the electric plug. Those phones are still working—and might be after a big earthquake that knocks out power.
• For those outside L.A. wondering if this is a heat-induced blackout, it's not hot in Los Angeles today.
• Mechanical failures at two Department of Water and Power receiving stations led to the loss of power shortly after 12:30 p.m., according to DWP officials speaking at a news conference. The outage began in the San Fernando Valley, where at least one of the stations is located, then spread to downtown, the Wilshire corridor and West Los Angeles around 1 p.m. Power was out for about half an hour in most places; as of 2 p.m., some parts of the city still were without power. LABJ 2:15 p.m.
• Running blog accounts at Blogging.la.
• CBS2 says a DWP employee inadvertently cut a power cable at a substation in West L.A. Two thoughts about that: I hope he or she is OK (and stops shaking before too long.) And I'd like to see those wire cutters.
*** Here's an assignment editor idea for the working journos out there: As the traffic lights come back on, many are blinking red in all directions. These days do traffic signals still have to be reset by hand, either at the corner or downtown at the ATSAC center? How long does it take for the entire city's traffic lights to reboot, as it were? I'm glad I'm not driving anywhere this afternoon. 5 p.m.