Got Power? Windy Weather Causes Outages

Got power? Many people don't today.

Los Altos was weathering the gusty winds relatively unscathed through mid-morning Monday, with only about ten households reporting power outages, and in nearby Mountain View, along Grant Road between El Camino Real and Fremont Avenue, about 34 customers were without power.

But with strong winds blowing all over the Bay Area, thousands of households lost power and roads closed down due to downed power lines.

San Francisco closed down the Great Highway on the coast as wind-driven sand from the dunes made visibility difficult.

What should you do if you have a power outage? PG&E says first, check to see if it's localized to your home, due to something unrelated to weather. The utility advises that before calling, check to see if other neighbors are affected. This will confirm if an outage has occurred in just your residence or within the neighborhood area, PG&E's outage page says. 

"If only your residence is without power, check circuit breakers and/or fuse boxes to see if the problem is limited to the home electric system," PG&E's outage page says.

PG&E's 24-Hour Outage Service Line is 1-800-PGE-5002 or (1-800-743-5002)

Since these events have crews jumping, it's important to keep them available for calls that are weather-related. 

If you see a downed tree in Los Altos, contact the police department at (650) 947-2770. In Los Altos Hills, contact (650) 941-7222

For people on the road today, here's the latest from the San Mateo County Sheriff's Department:

Both lanes of traffic on SR-84 are open between La Honda and SR-35 Skyline.  Comcast is conducting repairs at SR-84 & Sequoia (SR-84 2 miles west of SR-35) to cables along the roadside - use caution when driving in this area.

Most power has been restored to affected areas of Montara, Moss Beach, El Granada, and portions of Half Moon Bay.

Those most affected were in San Francisco, San Bruno and Redwood City, according to PG&E. Roughly 4,600 customers in San Francisco were without power; another nearly 4,300 were in the dark in Redwood City; and about 4,100 in San Bruno were power-less. Another nearly 1,700 customers did not have power in both Belmont and West Menlo Park, according to PG&E; more than 1,200 customers in Daly City were affected; and just less than 1,000 customers are without power in Sunnyvale, Vallejo and Menlo Park. 

Looking ahead, weather-wise, highs are only expected to be in the upper 50s, with northwest winds up to 30 mph with gusts around 45 mph, according to the National Weather Service. Mostly clear skies are likely this evening, with lows in the upper 40s and northwest winds up to 30 mph. A wind advisory will be in effect today until 8 p.m. Sunny skies are expected Tuesday morning. Highs are likely to be in the 60s, with north winds up to 20 mph.

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