EXCERPT :

Garbage and earthquake rubble buried most of the ramps on this stretch of interstate.  Up the ramps, behind the rusty barbs and chain link running alongside the highway, most of the old concrete buildings stood lightless except for the  occasional red glare of an open fire in a window hole. The four hours of electricity was probably an exaggeration.   More likely, the Western Resource and Energy Committee provided one hour, or no hours at all—most likely, they had simply issued the announcement to assure security-enclave residents in Beverly Hills and Orange County that something was being done for the benighted masses of the south.