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Spike in SF visitors during Pacific Gas and Electric power shutoffs
With the latest round of outages going into effect, some people in Marin County are heading to San Francisco. KTVU's Christian Kafton reports on long gas lines full of people who have been without power since Saturday.
SAN FRANCISCO - With power outages in some parts of the Bay Area going another night, some Marin County residents are heading into San Francisco.
Those residents are looking for a place to spend the day and fill up their tanks. The latest public safety power shutoff has left much of Marin County in the dark. Many of the shops along Bridgeway in Sausalito are dark.
The Sausalito Ferry Company is still open, but without power to run the register for now it's cash only.
"We're fortunate that this store has skylights, and it provides enough light that customers can come in," said Ken Robinson from Sausalito Ferry Company. "I also own a toy store across the street called Games People Play and that store has no skylights and is as dark as a tomb."
The shutdown is also leaving gas stations empty without power to run the pumps. The power outages sending people flooding into San Francisco, where the electricity is still running and the gas is still flowing. Customers said they felt like they were coasting into the shell station on Lombard Street on fumes.
"Yesterday there weren't any gas stations open," said Angelique Kofman from Corte Madera. "I went all the way from Mill Valley into San Rafael and couldn't find a single gas station open. So today I brought my older daughter here with some friends, and I purposely brought them here because I needed to fill up."
The line for gas stretching out with a line five or six cars deep at times. Those customers frustrated at being without power since Saturday. "It's definitely frustrating," said Jessica Cataneo from Sausalito. "I think it's obviously very sad what's happening more north of me, from Sausalito. So, I'm trying to have a good attitude about it."
In addition to filling up, many Marin County residents are spending the day in San Francisco. Businesses along Chestnut Street saying they've been busy.
With schools closed and no power at home, some Marin County residents say pets and kids need to get out of the house at least for a few hours.
"So we took the dog to run, and we going to get some hot food now," said Laura Roach from San Rafael. "Go get some pancakes and things like that, and just try to kill some time too. Because you can only fill the time so much with board games and different things."
That gas station got so many customers Monday and Tuesday that they had to call for an extra delivery of gasoline to keep the underground tanks full.