Widespread power outage darkens Central Coast
SANTA MARIA, Calif. - Pacific Gas and Electric Company says equipment failure at a substation caused a widespread power outage that darkened a swath of California's Central Coast.
Officials say the outage affected approximately 145,000 Pacific Gas and Electric Company customers, stretching from the beach town of Cambria in San Luis Obispo county to Solvang in Santa Barbara's wine country.
Santa Maria's police chief says the outage Sunday forced the police department to switch to generator power.
Extra officers were called to patrol the streets, direct traffic and respond to several reports of vandalism at local businesses.
PG&E tweeted that crews had restored power to about 90,000 customers around midnight, Pacific time.
