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A widespread blackout has plunged 130,000 homes and businesses into darkness throughout San Francisco, impacting roughly one-third of the city.
The outage primarily affected the northern regions, starting with the Richmond and Presidio neighborhoods and extending to areas surrounding Golden Gate Park.
Social media buzzed with reports of shuttered restaurants, shops, as well as darkened traffic lights and holiday decorations.
The San Francisco Department of Emergency Management announced on X that the city was experiencing “significant transit disruptions.” They advised residents to avoid unnecessary travel and to treat non-functioning traffic signals as four-way stops.
The city’s transit services, including Muni bus and BART train systems, reported skipping certain stations due to the power failure.
At least some of the blackouts were caused by a fire that broke out inside a Pacific Gas and Electric Co. (PG&E) substation at 8th and Mission streets.
A massive outage has knocked out power to 130,000 homes and businesses across San Francisco, leaving at least a third of the city in darkness
The power failure left a large swath of the northern part of the city in the dark on Saturday, beginning with the Richmond and Presidio neighborhoods and areas around Golden Gate Park
A Waymo vehicle sits idling at an intersection with no operating traffic lights due to power outages, in San Francisco, California on Saturday
Ryan Sicat, store manager of Industry of All Nations, stands outside the store amid the major power outage impacting 30 percent of San Francisco
The outage represents roughly one-third of the PG&E’s customers in the city
The outage represents roughly one-third of the PG&E’s customers in the city.
PG&E posted on X around 4pm that it had stabilized the power grid and was not expecting additional customer outages.
The company said it was unable to confirm when power would be restored.
San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie urged people to stay off the roads in a post on social media.
‘We are still not clear when power will be restored to over 130,000 customers,’ Lurie wrote. ‘So what I am going to ask all of you to do is, if you do not need to go out tonight, stay home, be safe.’
PG&E did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the cause of the blackouts.
A view of traffic from above as more than 130,000 PG&E customers are without power in San Francisco
A pedestrian crosses an intersection lit with headlights amid the San Francisco power outage
A Waymo driverless car is unable to detect traffic lights after a major power outage in San Francisco, California on Saturday
Pedestrians walk in the dark on Hayes Street after a major power outage in San Francisco
San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie urged people to stay off the roads amid the power outage
Fog and power outages darken the skyline as traffic moves in dark San Francisco
Vehicles move slowly in traffic as power outages darken the San Francisco streets
Traffic at a standstill in all directions as traffic lights are out amid a San Francisco power outage
Officials are still not clear when power will be restored to over 130,000 customers
A pedestrian uses a flash light while crossing an intersection as outages darken the streets
A bicyclist drives past head lights from an oncoming vehicle during the San Francisco power outage on Saturday
A trio sits on a bench in the darkness as they celebrate a birthday amid the major power outage in San Francisco
The San Francisco Department of Emergency Management said on X there were ‘significant transit disruptions’ happening citywide and urged residents to avoid nonessential travel and treat down traffic signals as four-way stops
The city’s transportation agencies said they were bypassing some Muni bus and BART train stations because of the power outages
The taillights from a vehicle are shown as power outages darken the streets in San Francisco
Miles Barrett, assistant designer at Industry of All Nations, reads Red Rising by Pierce Brown by candlelight during a power outage in San Francisco
PG&E posted on X around 4pm Saturday that it had stabilized the power grid and was not expecting additional customer outages
