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What caused the massive power outage that crippled San Francisco, disrupted holiday weekend
The San Francisco outage, which began shortly after 1 pm, affected around 130,000 homes and businesses across the city of more than 800,000 people.
San Francisco was brought to a near standstill on Saturday after a major power outage plunged large parts of the city into darkness for several hours, disrupting transport, shutting businesses and snarling traffic during one of the busiest holiday shopping weekends of the year.
The outage, which began shortly after 1 pm, affected around 130,000 homes and businesses across the city of more than 800,000 people, according to Pacific Gas and Electric Company. City officials said the blackout was triggered by a fire at a PG&E substation near 8th and Mission streets, which caused extensive damage and led to cascading power failures across multiple neighbourhoods.
PG&E said the damage from the substation fire was “significant and extensive,” making repairs complex. By early Sunday morning, electricity had been restored to about 110,000 customers, while roughly 21,000 were still without power. The utility said additional engineers and electricians had been mobilised, but it could not provide a precise timeline for full restoration.
The blackout had an immediate and visible impact on daily life in San Francisco. Traffic lights went dark across wide areas, forcing police officers to manually manage busy intersections. The city’s Department of Emergency Management urged residents to avoid non-essential travel and treat non-functioning signals as four-way stops, warning of traffic congestion and safety risks.
Public transport services were also hit. Trains on parts of the city’s rapid transit network were forced to bypass certain downtown stations, while bus services faced delays due to gridlocked roads. Adding to the disruption, self-driving ride-hailing services operated by Waymo were temporarily suspended as a safety precaution.
The timing of the outage compounded its economic impact. With Christmas just days away, many retailers and restaurants were forced to close for the day, leaving normally crowded commercial districts unusually quiet. The San Francisco Chronicle reported that some businesses described the sudden drop in footfall as “devastating,” particularly as parts of the city were also blanketed in fog, further discouraging shoppers.
Mayor Daniel Lurie acknowledged the strain on residents and businesses, calling it a “rough day” for the city. Speaking from the emergency operations centre, he said authorities were coordinating closely with PG&E and first responders to manage the fallout and restore normalcy as quickly as possible.
By Saturday evening, PG&E said it had stabilised the grid and did not expect further outages. Investigations into the cause of the substation fire are ongoing, and officials said there were no reports of injuries linked to the incident.
