Entire neighborhoods in San Francisco witnessed widespread power outages Saturday after a massive power outage.
According to the San Francisco Chronicle, the outage affected more than 1,30,000 homes and businesses by mid-afternoon. That represents about one-third of Pacific Gas and Electric Co.’s customers. in the city.
Massive power outages in San Francisco, triggered by a fire inside a PG&E substation, began this morning on the city’s west side.
Read also | A massive PG&E outage in San Francisco leaves about 125,000 customers without power
These San Francisco neighborhoods were affected by the massive power outage:
- Presidio
- Seacliff
- Outer Richmond
- Inner Richmond
- Golden Gate Park
- Panhandle
- Indoor sunset
- Outdoor sunset
- The West of Twin Peaks section
Around 3 p.m., PG&E’s website said about 30% of all city customers were without power.
San Francisco power: What was affected?
Traffic came to a standstill on a dark San Francisco street Saturday afternoon as streetlights went out or went into emergency flashing mode.
The San Francisco Department of Emergency Management said traffic lights in areas with power outages may be affected. “If the traffic light goes dark, always consider it a four-way stop.”
The Christmas mood was also dampened by a power outage, as the festive decorations went dark.
Restaurants reportedly lit candles for diners to keep the place going.
The San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District (BART) said the Powell Street and Civic Center stations were also closed due to the outage.
In the post, X BART said the San Francisco line is experiencing delays of 10 minutes in each direction due to power outages at Powell and Civic Center stations.
What caused the massive power outage in San Francisco?
A fire broke out at the PG&E substation at 8th and Mission streets at about 2:15 p.m., causing at least some power outages, according to a news source citing San Francisco Fire Lt. Marian Elias.
Employees reported smoke inside the building, and firefighters used specialized carbon monoxide equipment to extinguish the flames on the first floor of the four-story building, Elias said.
PG&E’s first public response
In its first public response to the outages, PG&E said in an X post: “We are working with first responders and city officials on the #SanFrancisco outage affecting 130,000 customers. We will share more information as it becomes available.”
It remained unclear what caused the initial outages in the Inner Sunset, Richmond and other West Side neighborhoods.
An emergency operations center opens
San Francisco opened its emergency operations center to coordinate the city’s response.
Mayor Daniel Lurie released a video from inside the center urging people “to be safe on the roads.”
“A lot of the lights aren’t on,” Lurie said. “Stay safe and we will continue to be in touch with PG&E.”
