>> A race to switch the lights back on down under. Some of Australia's biggest mining operations still in darkness Thursday, a day after a massive storm plunged the entire state of South Australia into darkness. That's an area five times the size of the UK. Ports were forced to shut down and traffic was in chaos.

Wind and rain taking down transmission poles and trees.>> Lightning strikes hit the tree out on the street. And the tree seems to have exploded and come down into the house.>> Authorities say the power's been switched on for most of the state's 1.7 million people, but the mining industry has been brought to a standstill.

BHP Billiton announcing Thursday that production has halted at one of its mines, which churns out almost 15% of the company's entire copper output. It has no information on when it will be able to start back up. Australia's Energy Minister says the disaster waste is some serious questions about the state's power supply, 40% of it coming from wind.

Some warning that relying on renewable resources makes the state vulnerable to more massive power outages in the future.