San Francisco goes dark as 130,000 lose power after substation fire

A fire at a PG&E substation sparked a massive blackout in San Francisco, leaving about 130,000 customers without power and plunging large parts of the city into darkness. The outage began in the early afternoon and spread across the northern neighborhoods, affecting homes and businesses alike. The scope of the blackout underscored how reliant the city is on a single utility to keep traffic signals, transit systems, and critical services running.

Neighborhoods such as Richmond and Presidio, along with areas around Golden Gate Park, were among the hardest hit as the outage grew in size. The company later confirmed that the event affected roughly one-third of its San Francisco customers, with social media and local media reporting restaurant closures, dark storefronts, and unlit Christmas decorations across the city.

PG&E said it had stabilised the power grid by about 4 p.m. and did not immediately expect additional customer outages, though it did not provide a firm restoration timeline. The disruption spilled into city transit, with Muni trains unable to enter underground segments and BART stations limited or closed at Civic Center and Powell. Muni shuttle service was reduced to a route between West Portal and Caltrain as agencies redirected operations around the blackout.

Emergency authorities urged residents to stay off nonessential travel and to treat downed traffic signals as four-way stops. The San Francisco Department of Emergency Management posted updates on social media outlining significant transit disruptions and advising people to use caution in affected areas. The incident also raised questions about infrastructure resilience and response times as investigators review the cause of the substation fire. Officials asked for patience as crews work to restore life-supporting services and the city continues to assess the broader impact on daily life and local businesses.

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