Where Were You When the Lights Went Out?

Written by Adina Genn

It was 10 years ago Wednesday that a widespread blackout affected nearly 50 million people as scores of power plants shut down throughout the Northeast and into Ohio.

The outages left many New Yorkers stranded, as trains and traffic lights stopped working. No power meant no air-conditioning, and many took to cooking on outdoor grills so that their food wouldn’t spoil in powerless refrigerators.  For those needing to make a purchase, cash was a must, as stores could not handle credit card transactions.

As the blackout took place nearly two years after Sept. 11, many feared terrorism. The trigger, it turned out, was a power line in Ohio touched by an untrimmed tree branch that ultimately led to the 2003 power failure.  

Which leads to the question: where were you during the 2003 blackout? Did you have trouble getting home? Were you touched by the kindness of strangers?

Tell us in the comments.