The power outage at the FAA facility in Palmdale was actually caused by a car wreck chain of events. A car accident took out a power pole, causing power to be re-routed to other lines causing a high demand power on other power lines. The system was overloaded and kicked off-line, to add insult to injury, the backup generator at the ARTCC in Palmdale didn't kick on and work correctly causing the facility to shut down. Not a California power problem per se.
Just some basic info since this thread has brought the little old ladies into the mix.....
LAXFO