On Saturday, December 20, the vibrant city of San Francisco experienced a widespread power outage that plunged thousands into darkness. What started as an impact on tens of thousands quickly grew, eventually affecting over 125,000 PG&E customers – nearly one-third of the entire city!
Major neighborhoods like The Presidio, Seacliff, Richmond, Sunset, and even parts of Golden Gate Park were left without electricity. The blackout created immediate disruption, forcing the closure of key BART and Muni stations, including Powell Street and Civic Center, and causing traffic lights across the city to go dark. Authorities urged drivers to treat all intersections as four-way stops to prevent accidents.
While PG&E hadn’t officially confirmed the cause, the San Francisco Fire Department reported a significant fire at a PG&E substation located at 8th and Mission Streets. Fire officials suspected this incident was a major contributing factor to the widespread outage. Thankfully, no injuries or structural damage were reported from the substation fire, which was quickly brought under control.
As residents grappled with the unexpected blackout, the San Francisco Department of Emergency Management shared crucial safety tips. They advised calling 9-1-1 only for life-threatening emergencies, avoiding non-essential travel, keeping refrigerators closed to preserve food, and never using gas stoves or generators indoors due to carbon monoxide risks.
PG&E worked to restore power, with some areas seeing electricity return relatively quickly, while others faced an undetermined wait. The city slowly began to emerge from the darkness, but for many, Saturday evening was spent navigating an unexpected blackout.
