The lights began to flicker in the Landmark Office Building in downtown Lansing about 4:15 p.m. on Thursday Aug. 14. Our leadership team was just wrapping up the biweekly business meeting, and when the lights went out, the 15 men and women in the room stared at each other in stunned silence.

Downtown streets quickly filled with people scurrying around wondering what was happening and how to get home. Getting out of the parking garage became a 30-minute challenge in accident avoidance. Several commuters volunteered to direct traffic on busy street corners.

Cell phones either didn't work or were constantly busy. The real shock came when I heard a radio announcement that the entire northeastern United States, including New York City, was experiencing a blackout. No one knew the cause. My mind was flooded -- was this another 9/11? Could this be a terrorist attack? What was going on?


Assessing the Situation
As Emergency Management Coordinator for the Department of Information Technology (DIT), I reported to the State Emergency Operations Center (SEOC), which was on generator power. As I walked into the underground facility, I thanked God we ran three emergency exercises in the past five months to prepare for moments like these. On arrival, I learned the full scope of the outage in Michigan and surrounding states. My job was to coordinate actions with other departments and ensure the DIT provided computer and communication assistance needed during the emergency.

I immediately contacted our DIT emergency coordination center, which was activated at our backup data center location -- also running on generator power. Many of our technical staff and emergency contacts were on vacation, but after working through wrong and unanswered phone numbers, representatives from every section of the DIT were connected into our phone bridge. This line was buzzing with activity for the next five days.

The SEOC quickly filled with emergency management representatives from all parts of state and local government, the Red Cross and the energy companies. Gov. Jennifer Granholm and her executive staff also were there. Slowly the activity in the room started to build as phones rang, and meetings and informal discussions formed.

An executive update was given by each organization every few hours. The governor walked around the room to hear each report and ask follow-up questions. I was impressed by her focus and hands-on approach to the crisis. I had at least half a dozen conversations with her during the blackout. During one of the briefings, I was surprised and encouraged when President Bush called the governor to promise federal support.

Over the next several days, our Public Service Commission (PSC) representative gave regular reports about the power outage's expected length in different areas. Maps on the walls showed which areas were still without power and which were still in a state of emergency. A pattern developed in which power was restored quicker than estimated, but in some cases the power was unstable and failed shortly after it was restored, hampering our computer restoration efforts.

The biggest issue was water. Many organizations, including the National Guard and the Red Cross, helped get water to southwest Michigan. Private companies donated water and others volunteered to truck it from one part of the state to another. Reports were also given by the Department of Community Health on hospital coverage and other health-related issues. The Department of Agriculture was active in resolving food spoilage issues and restaurant food safety.


Establishing Order
On Thursday night, the DIT faced numerous challenges and questions. Reports came from all over the state about whether services were up and running. Some computer servers went down when their Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) failed. The Executive Office wanted to update the state Web portal "Michigan.gov" with regular messages from