Downtown Novato lost power for hundreds of customers Wednesday morning, darkening traffic signals across the area and prompting local police to warn drivers to treat affected intersections as four-way stops. The outage struck 912 customers and was reported at 8:44 a.m., according to PG&E and local police.
As reported by NBC Bay Area, PG&E's outage map estimated that power would not be restored until 6:45 p.m. Wednesday evening, meaning some residents and businesses could be without electricity for roughly 10 hours. KRON4 also confirmed the outage was affecting hundreds of customers in the area Wednesday morning. The cause of the outage was not immediately available, the station reported.
Dark Signals Prompt Four-Way Stop Warning
Novato police said traffic signals went out across the affected area and advised drivers to treat those intersections like four-way stop signs, per the same NBC Bay Area account. According to guidance from the City of Novato, residents who spot downed or hanging power lines should stay away from them entirely — remaining inside a home or car, calling 9-1-1 first, and then contacting PG&E at 1-877-660-6789.
PG&E crews were separately evaluating the electrical system to identify damaged sections, according to Patch.
Not Tied to This Week's Planned Shutoffs
The downtown Novato outage was unrelated to PG&E's Public Safety Power Shutoffs planned for the broader region this week, the utility said, according to the same NBC Bay Area report. Those planned shutoffs were separately set to affect more than 11,000 customers across the North and East Bay starting Wednesday evening and continuing through Saturday, aimed at preventing wildfires sparked by power lines moving or snapping in high winds.
PG&E had placed 29 California counties under a Public Safety Power Shutoff watch, warning that roughly 70,000 customers across those counties could lose power beginning around 5:30 p.m. Wednesday because of dry, windy conditions, the station reported. More than 1,600 customers in Contra Costa County and more than 4,700 in Alameda County were among those warned they could be affected.
Closer to Novato, Willits News reported that PG&E expected likely shutoffs affecting several thousand North Bay customers from Wednesday through Saturday as gusty winds and warmer, drier weather moved into the region. The utility cautioned that the number of customers and locations ultimately affected by the planned shutoffs could still change as weather conditions developed through the week.
