Widespread power outage darkens Central Coast
A widespread power outage has darkened most of California’s Central Coast.
Pacific Gas and Electric Company tweeted that 145,000 of its customers were without electricity Sunday night and that crews were working to restore power.
The cause of the outage wasn’t immediately known. A company spokesperson could not be immediately reached for comment.
Santa Maria Police Chief Ralph Martin said all power went out about 9:15 p.m., forcing the police department to switch to generator power. A PG&E representative told him that the outage stretched from Cambria to Solvang in the Santa Ynez Valley.
Santa Maria, with a population of about 100,000, was the largest city affected by the outage. Martin said extra officers were patrolling the streets to direct traffic and respond to several reports of vandalism at businesses.
