Last major blackout was 7 years ago
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Commuters and travelers flow out of the darkened hallways toward the main waiting area inside Grand Central Station in New York City, after a massive power outage Thursday.
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(AP) -- The last massive power outage in the United States occurred seven years ago when high temperatures, sagging power lines and unusually high demand for electricity caused a blackout that affected 4 million customers in nine Western states.
The outage on August 11, 1996, stretched from Oregon to San Diego and as far east as Texas, and even affected parts of Mexico. The "cascading" power outage was caused when the power lines in the Northwest became unbalanced, affecting four main arteries that send electricity south, power officials said.
The outage, one of the most severe in U.S. history, lasted up to 10 hours in some areas.
Among other notable blackouts in the countries are:
• In 12 minutes on November 9, 1965, 80,000 square miles in seven states and two Canadian provinces went black, affecting 30 million people. It became known as "the Great Blackout."
• On July 13, 1977, 9 million people in New York were without power for 25 hours after lightning struck upstate power lines. Looting resulted in 3,700 arrests.
• On May 19, 1986, a switching problem in a substation at Grand Central Terminal in New York City caused a 12-hour blackout affecting buildings in a four-block area.
• October 23, 1997, about 250,000 people in a five-mile stretch of downtown San Francisco lost power for 90 minutes or more. FBI investigators later determined someone intentionally cut the power.
• On December 8, 1998, a construction crew's mistake caused a blackout across a 49-square mile area of the San Francisco Peninsula. The power went out for about 940,000 people and was restored seven hours later.
• On July 6, 1999, three days of record-breaking heat arched power lines in New York City, causing a 19-hour blackout.
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