Fog and power outages darken the skyline as traffic moves in San Francisco (Picture credit: AP)
A massive power outage plunged large parts of San Francisco into darkness on Saturday, affecting nearly a third of the city and disrupting transport, businesses and daily life, before electricity was gradually restored late in the evening.At its peak, around 130,000 of the city’s 414,000 electricity customers were without power, reported the news agency AP. By about 9:30 pm, the number had fallen to roughly 40,000, according to PowerOutage.com. The blackout hit several neighbourhoods across the northern half of the city, including the Richmond and Sunset districts, areas around Golden Gate Park, Haight-Ashbury and parts of downtown. City Hall’s dome also went dark, while pedestrians used phone flashlights to cross streets and some restaurants served meals by candlelight.The outage forced the closure of shops and mass transit stations, while Waymo temporarily suspended its driverless taxi services. Cultural events were also affected, with the San Francisco Ballet cancelling a performance of The Nutcracker, as per The New York Times. BART closed Powell Street and Civic Center stations, and the city’s Muni light-rail system curtailed services after its computer systems were impacted. Firefighters were battling a fire at a Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) substation at Eighth and Mission streets. The blaze, reported around 2 pm, was described as a “contributing factor” to the outage, though officials said it was unclear if it was the sole cause, according to The New York Times. Mayor Daniel Lurie later said the substation fire had caused the blackout, reported the news agency AFP.PG&E said it had stabilised the grid and was not expecting further outages, adding that power would be fully restored overnight. City officials urged residents to stay home where possible and treat dark traffic signals as four-way stops.The outage came on the final weekend before Christmas, frustrating shoppers and businesses. “No power, no business,” said Kevin Lee, a gas station attendant, as quoted by The New York Times.
