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Massive Power Outage Has 1.4 Million San Diego Residents in the Dark

By  Lindsay William-Ross
Published Sep 9, 2011 12:00 AM
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Photo by bananaphoto via Shutterstock
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A major power outage in San Diego is being attributed to a severed power line in Arizona, and currently all 1.4 million San Diego Gas & Electric (SDGE) customers are in the dark.The SDGE website has the following announcement:

SDG&E crews are working as quickly and safely as possible. We don’t have an estimated restoration time. The power could be out through the night and into tomorrow.

According to L.A. Now:

Across San Diego, businesses are closed, traffic is snarled and the trolley system is down. San Diego International Airport was on backup generators. There were reports that power was also out in southern Orange County, Imperial County, Tijuana, Arizona and Palm Springs.

The
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SDGE Twitter account has been posting updates about the situation. They say there was an "event" between Arizona and California that caused the outage. "This caused our line from AZ and from the north of our region to both trip off," SDGE explains. They also confirm that parts of Baja and Mexico have been affected. Several days of high temperatures may have also played a part.

SDGE is emphasizing the importance of safety during this blackout.