Massive power outage hits San Francisco, shuts down businesses, BART station, cable cars, traffic lights
Massive power outage hits San Francisco, shuts down businesses, BART station, cable cars, traffic lights
A massive power outage in San Francisco caused a blackout Friday morning in several neighborhoods, from the Financial District to the Presidio, forcing the closure of businesses, a BART station, cable car service and a federal courthouse, officials said.
A spokesman for Pacific Gas and Electric Co. said 88,000 customers lost power and that there had been a fire at a substation at Larkin and Eddy streets.
The San Francisco Fire Department was responding to more than 100 calls for service in the Financial District and beyond, including 20 elevators with people stuck inside, but reported no immediate injuries.
Traffic lights were out at scores of intersections, and cars were backing up on downtown streets as drivers grew frustrated and honked at each other.
BART’s Montgomery Station was closed for more than two hours, with trains running through the station without stopping, before the agency reopened it.
All cable cars were down, as were several Muni bus lines that typically run on electricity from overhead wires, including the 30, 45, 22, and 24.
Muni trains, however, were still running both underground and above ground, though delays were expected due to the extensive problems with traffic lights.
Nineteen schools in San Francisco were struck by the outage, including Spring Valley Science School, Sutro Elementary, Civic Center Secondary School, Alamo Elementary, Galileo Academy of Science and Technology and Cobb Elementary.
Daisy Prado, a 23-year-old South Bay resident, said she was sitting at her desk on the 14th floor of an office building on the 200 block of Montgomery Street in the Financial District when the power suddenly dropped out.
“The money is stuck in the drawer,” said Italo Amaral, an employee with the Sutter Street cafe Bread and Cocoa, after his cash register and credit card machine lost power.
A lot of people just milled about, drinking coffee or staring at their phones.