Day by day, the damage increases simply because of power being switched on and off.
Officials say the failure was so dramatic the backup system also fried.
The outage meant no calls could come into dispatchers from cell phones or from roadside call boxes. Troopers had to leave their normal patrols to search the roadways for stranded motorists. Even though it does not appear the failure led to any loss of life, CHP officials say they can't take the chance this could happen again. So, the state is ordering a completely new system to serve as a backup in case of another emergency like the one many people faced this weekend. Most power surges originate within your home or business because inductive loads are the down-side to power distribution.