The RF interference From a compact florescent lamp is rather small. They don't have much of an effect on even AM radios. The field you were in at the power plant is another thing altogether. You can get a florescent tube to light up by just holding it up in the air under some of those power lines.

What was the weather like? The 60 Hz doesn't radiate much but in wet weather there is a lot of stray discharge that can produce RFI all over the spectrum.