The 5:30 pm shutdown was way up in Palmdale at the Los Angeles Air Route Traffic Control Center, but it kept numerous flights on the ground. "The airport's not totally shut down, but it's pretty much shut down," LAX spokesman Harold Johnson told Associated Press. Even though the Palmdale center switched over to backup generators and normal power came back after ninety minutes, the disturbance rippled through the air traffic system. Departures at Lindbergh Field in San Diego were halted for a time and some flights into the region were diverted to the Bay Area.


