The city of San Francisco was plunged into darkness overnight Saturday into Sunday, with power outages affecting nearly a third of the city.
When the outage hit, more than 130,000 homes and businesses were without power, mostly in northwest San Francisco, while traffic in the city, including self-driving cars, came to a standstill.
Some parts of the city, such as Richmond, Sunset, the Presidio and Golden Gate Park, were among the hardest hit.
As of Sunday morning, nearly 30,000 people in San Francisco were still without power, according to PowerOutageUS.
Interruption of service
Media reports said hundreds of businesses temporarily closed shop due to the outage.
Self-driving cars also grinded, Waymo announced the end of its services.
“We have temporarily suspended our recall services in light of the widespread power outage in San Francisco,” Suzanne Philion, a Waymo spokeswoman, told SFGATE.
“We are focused on keeping our riders safe and ensuring emergency personnel have the free access they need to do their jobs,” she added.
Videos posted on social media also showed self-driving cars stuck on darkened streets.
What caused the power outage in San Francisco?
San Francisco’s Department of Emergency Management said on X that there was “significant traffic disruption” across the city, but did not give a reason.
Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E), which serves San Francisco, also did not give a reason for the widespread outage, but San Francisco firefighters reported a fire at a substation in the city.
It is understood that at least some of the outages were related to that, KCRA reported.
What is the status now?
Media reports said both PG&E crews and authorities continued to work to restore power Sunday morning.
“Crews had restored about 95,000 customers and about 35,000 without power by 11 p.m. Saturday,” PG&E said, adding that there were no injuries to workers or the public.
Mayor Daniel Lurie also issued an update saying services are being restored.
He also advised residents to use candles to reduce the risk of fire, check on neighbors, especially the elderly and those with medical needs.
