Rainy, windy weather knocks out power for thousands of PG&E customers

OAKLAND, Calif. - A power outage affecting thousands of PG&E customers in Oakland and parts of the East Bay on Wednesday was caused by rainy and windy weather in the area, a utility spokeswoman said.

The outage was first reported at 10:49 a.m. By 5 p.m., a PG&E spokeswoman said the number of customers affected had dwindled to 1,769, down from 5,378 three hours earlier. 

The utility's outage map showed that Oakland neighborhoods on both sides of Broadway north of West MacArthur Boulevard lost power.

Several Oakland schools were let out early, just before lunch. They included: Oakland Tech, Oakland International High School, Emerson Elementary and the Emerson preschool.

Spokeswoman Tamar Sarkissian said people lost power due to issues related to the stormy weather, but the exact cause remained under investigation.

The utility said crews are working to replace a power pole and other equipment in Oakland after an outage impacted 4,000 customers this morning. As many as 630 customers impacted there can expect to have their power back on when the equipment is replaced. PG&E said the goal is by 7 p.m. tonight.

Last month, 29,000 customers in Richmond, El Cerrito, and San Pablo lost power due to a combination of dust and rain on the utility lines, PG&E said.

Bay City News contributed to this article.