Frustration Hits O.C. as Juice Goes Out

At 3:45 Saturday afternoon, the lights went out in Orange County.

Elevators stopped between floors. Rides halted at Disneyland. Businesses and stores closed their doors. And traffic lights everywhere went dark.

The gigantic power outage that swept across the Western seaboard Saturday left more than half a million homes and offices in Orange County without electricity for about three hours.

The outage spawned a storm of local problems, some big, most of them small. For thousands of people across the county, what began as an ordinary Saturday quickly became a day of frustration and inconvenience.

On the serious side, law enforcement officials reported a surge of traffic accidents, most at intersections where signals failed. Several people were trapped momentarily in elevators. Flights at John Wayne Airport were canceled and delayed.

“This affected every community in Orange County,” Orange County Fire Authority Capt. Scott Brown said. “There were a lot of traffic accidents. A lot of 911 calls didn’t get answered.”

Yet for most of Orange County, Saturday’s power failure caused headaches and gripes, but not much more.

The music died at a wedding at the Ritz-Carlton in Dana Point. At MainPlace/Santa Ana, Nordstrom closed to new customers and diners at Spoon’s restaurant had to drop their forks and leave.

Cash machines died, gas pumps stalled and air conditioners everywhere went silent. Yet after a moment’s surprise, many people got on with their lives.

“We thought we were going to be bummed out,” said Helen Sullivan, who was shopping at Fashion Island when the power forced many stores to close. “We bought a bunch of stuff we didn’t need. We’re just going to stay here and blow off some steam.”

By 6 p.m., power had begun to flow again. By 7 p.m., power had been restored to about 90% of the homes and businesses in Orange County that had been affected, and the rest followed soon after that.

Millie Paul, a spokeswoman for Southern California Edison, said they estimated that more than 500,000 customers were involved.

“We believe most of the county was hit,” she said.

Police and fire officials fanned out across the county, expecting the worst. The Orange County Fire Authority dispatched more than 200 fire engines and a helicopter to search for fires. Police officers, many working double shifts, went to tangled intersections to sort things out. Departments across the county were flooded with callers.

“We’re responding in what amounts to our earthquake mode,” Orange County fire Capt. Dan Young said late Saturday afternoon.

At Disneyland, a number of rides stopped, including Splash Mountain, Indiana Jones Adventure and Big Thunder Mountain.

“All the good ones were down,” said Sarah Boyd, 24, of San Francisco, as she and several friends left the park earlier than planned. “It was a bummer.”

Joe Aguirre, a Disneyland spokesman, said some rides stopped momentarily before starting again. But others such as Indiana Jones, Splash Mountain, Pirates of the Caribbean and the Monorail, which are operated by computer, had to be stopped and restarted.

“Guests who were on the affected rides had to be escorted off . . . .” he said.

The outage caused traffic snarls on the freeways and on surface streets. At intersections throughout the county, police officers took charge and directed traffic with their hands.

“We’ve got an officer at every intersection,” Costa Mesa police Sgt. Martin Carver said.

Traffic began to flow again on Orange County highways by early evening, after hours of tie-ups. Dispatchers at the California Highway Patrol, who were working by generators, said they were inundated by curious callers.

“We are amazed at the number of people who called,” said Placentia police Lt. Chuck Babcock. “First we told them it was citywide, then countywide, then statewide, and now there are five states affected.”

In Fullerton, the power came back on just in time for House Speaker Newt Gingrich’s scheduled arrival at the train station for a rally.

At John Wayne Airport in Santa Ana, the headaches were numerous. Flights to San Francisco and all points north of there were canceled or delayed.

United Airlines canceled four flights. Passengers had to exit planes through the back and down the stairs. Even with emergency power, the baggage carousels stopped.

Metal detectors still worked.

The outage forced some fliers to rearrange their plans.

“This is annoying. I have plans,” said Heather Smith of San Francisco, who was on her way home from a business trip.

Shelley McGraw of San Francisco was trying to return home from a visit to family and friends in Yorba Linda when the power went dead.

“We feel like idiots,” she said. “We returned our rental car, and now we’re stuck at the airport.”

Some flyers just seemed to roll with the inconvenience.

“Doesn’t bother me,” said Juliet Gashonia, arriving from New York on a business trip. “I’d just like to get to a hotel.”

Not all businesses were affected. Carol Saeder, who owns the Earthy Things furniture and gift shop in downtown San Clemente, said the power never went out.

“Business was great, I guess God blessed us today,” Saeder said.

Kerry Styles of Irvine was watching the movie “Trainspotting” near South Coast Plaza when the power died.

“The movie was getting good, and all of a sudden the screen went black and the emergency lights went on. We didn’t know what happened. We thought the film had broken.”

Although two weddings at the Ritz-Carlton lost their music, it didn’t stop anyone from having a grand time, said hotel manager Sharon Tayler.

“They rolled a piano in, and guests sat down and started playing,” Tayler said. “We’re moving along. They are just having fun with it.”

Times staff writers David Haldane, Jerry Hicks, Binh Hong and Tina Nguyen and correspondents Jeff Kass and Frank Messina contributed to this story.