Power Outages, Downed Trees Continue To Impact Peninsula Residents

SAN MATEO COUNTY, CA — East Palo Alto's vice mayor called on Pacific Gas and Electric Thursday to modernize its infrastructure as some peninsula residents have been without power for two days due to high winds and downed power lines.

Upwards of 60,000 PG&E customers in San Mateo County have been affected by power outages caused by high winds earlier this week, making San Mateo the hardest hit county in the Bay Area.

According to East Palo Alto Vice Mayor Antonio Lopez, some households in the city have been without power since 1 p.m. Tuesday.

PG&E had expressed optimism that power could be restored by 10 p.m. Thursday, according to state Sen. Josh Becker, D-San Mateo, but some are still in the dark for now.

Lopez and Becker also chastised the utility for not properly communicating about the ongoing outages.

"Many of our residents have called into the city asking us, 'when's the power going to turn on?'," Lopez said in a virtual media briefing Thursday afternoon.

"They go to the PG&E (website) and depending on where you live it could be anywhere from today at 3 p.m., 11 p.m. tonight, 11 p.m. the next day," he said. "So for us on the ground, it's hard to find a rhyme or reason as to when and how the power will be back on."

Lopez and Becker noted that many residents without power have medical conditions or equipment that require electricity or are without hot water.

The county is also expected to see low overnight temperatures fall well into the 30s. Given that, the two officials said it is imperative residents have their power restored as soon as possible.

Becker added that the county faced flooding and power issues less than two months ago during the storms that battered the Bay Area throughout most of January.

"I know there are crews that are working really hard, and I'm not here to criticize the people that are working 24/7 to try to fix this ... but sometimes it feels like our infrastructure is more 1923 than 2023 and it just doesn't feel acceptable that we should have to go through this," he said.

Outages elsewhere in San Mateo County brought traffic to a halt in Menlo Park for most of Thursday afternoon, as PG&E crews worked to replace a power line along U.S. Highway 101 that was damaged by a fallen tree.

The highway was shut down in both directions after 1 p.m. and the reopened around 5 p.m., according to the utility.

PG&E has brought in 20 additional crews to the peninsula in an effort to repair downed power lines, clear fallen trees and hasten power restoration throughout San Mateo County.

According to Menlo Park officials, the city received 27 calls about downed trees and 46 calls for broken tree limbs between 1 p.m. Tuesday and 4 p.m. Wednesday.

According to PG&E, current power line repairs and replacement is further complicated by snow in low-lying areas across the Bay Area that is breaking trees that don't often receive snow.

"When that happens, the tree can fall into a power line and take it down to the ground and also damage the poles," said Jan Nimick, PG&E's vice president of power generation. "So often repairs are complex because there's a lot of heavy damage to our equipment, and the repairs can also be complicated by access issues."

Bay Area residents are encouraged to visit pge.com/stormsafety for tips on how to prepare for cold and stormy weather events.

Those in Menlo Park who remain without power can contact the city manager's office at (650) 330-6610 by 8 p.m. Thursday to request a one-night hotel stay.

Residents can also request hotel stay information in-person at the Belle Haven Branch Library before 8 p.m.

Requests for one-night hotel stays can be made to swstotle@menlopark.gov before 8 p.m. Thursday. Residents should include "Request for power outage hotel stay" in the email's subject line.

For the latest updates, visit PG&E's outage website.

For information from San Mateo County about this week's storms, cold weather and wind events, visit here.

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