Palm Frond Zaps Morning Power to City Hall, Downtown Village

City Hall and The Village downtown lost power for 20 minutes Wednesday morning when a power line shut down automatically. An object struck it, said utility officials. What hit the line? A palm frond.  SDG&E spokeswoman Allison Zaragoza said the frond hit a line in an alley west of Porter Hill Road and north of Roach Road—east of the La Mesa Community Center on Memorial Drive. The outage lasted from 10:43 a.m. to 11:03 a.m., cutting electricity to 350 customers. It was fixed by a crew dispatched to clear the debris. Winds reached 31 mph in La Mesa on Wednesday, according to the weather station operated by Paul Richmond. Recent high wind speed was 47 mph recorded Jan. 19, 2010.