Storm-Related Outages Impact At Least 2,500 In Lamorinda

LAMORINDA, CA — Nearly 2,500 Lamorinda residents were among PG&E customers without power Tuesday afternoon as high winds hit Central Contra Costa County, knocking down trees and power lines and blocking roadways.

There were 2,339 Lamorinda customers impacted by an outage that started at 1:51 p.m. Tuesday. PG&E confirmed the outage was weather-related.

Another 125 Lamorinda customers were still impacted by an outage that started at 12:55 p.m. Tuesday and was also caused by the weather, according to PG&E.

Reliez Valley Road was closed Tuesday afternoon between Pleasant Hill Road and Green Valley Drive in Lafayette because of live wires on the roadway, Lafayette police said. PG&E was en route and police were on the scene. There was no ETA for when the road may reopen.

The Lafayette Police Department urged residents to use caution if driving or walking because there were multiple trees down throughout Lamorinda, with windy conditions expected to continue through Tuesday evening.

In Orinda, Camino don Miguel was closed between Miner Road and Santa Lucia because of a downed wire, the Orinda Police Department said shortly after 2:30 p.m. Public works personnel were on the scene but there was no ETA for reopening.

The main power outages were in the Upper Happy Valley Area, Hidden Valley, Tahos Area, Glorietta Area and Rheem Highlands.

Across the Bay Area, at least 275,000 customers were without power Tuesday, including 88,621 in the East Bay.

The soil is saturated by rain, causing more downed trees and power lines, the National Weather Service said.

Intense wind gusts have led to downed trees and wires in every part of the Bay Area, PG&E Spokesperson Megan McFarland said.

Winds of 74 mph have been clocked Tuesday at San Francisco International Airport; 97 mph at Mount Umunhum in the Santa Cruz Mountains; 93 mph along Mines Road in the East Bay; and 71 mph in the Las Trampas and Oakland hills, McFarland said.

"Elsewhere, widespread gusts 45-55 mph have been reported and will continue with isolated gusts 65+ mph possible through the Sacramento and northern San Joaquin Valleys, as well as along the Sierra foothills and over elevated terrain," McFarland said.

— Bay City News Service contributed to this report.