Feb. 22 Power outage update

Published on February 22, 2023

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High winds bring down trees and electric service

Our area experienced especially high winds that brought down trees and wreaked havoc with local electrical lines. PG&E reports that outages in the San Francisco Peninsula area peaked around 62,000 last night and they are still working to restore 42,000 customers at this time.

Between 1 p.m., Tuesday, and 9 a.m., Wednesday, the City of Menlo Park received 16 calls for trees down and 27 calls for broken tree limbs down or other tree issues.

Report fallen trees to 650-330-6780 from 7:30 a.m.–4:30 p.m. (business hours) and to 650-330-6300 overnight (after hours).

For downed power lines, or if you suspect another emergency, leave the area immediately and call 9-1-1. Then, call PG&E at 1-800-743-5000.

Road closures

Currently, the City is working to address the following road closures:

Crane Street between Menlo Avenue and Live Oak Avenue
Ravenswood Avenue between Alma Street and Laurel Street
O'Keefe Street between Willow Road and Arnold Way
McKendry Drive between Blackburn Avenue and Robin Way
Riordan Place at Coleman Avenue

Traffic signal outages

Many traffic signals remain out due to widespread power outages. Please drive with caution and allow extra time to arrive to your destination.

Remember, if a traffic signal is out or flashing red, treat the intersection as a 4-way stop.

Power outages and restoration

PG&E crews are working as safely and as quickly as possible to restore power. After an outage, their crews’ first task is to assess damage. In the case of major outages, this assessment can take several hours to a few days. During this phase, you may see their trucks in your neighborhood as you continue to experience an outage. The information they gather helps them plan their work.

In an outage situation, addressing hazardous situations such as downed wires is priority. Next, they focus on restoring as many customers as they can, as quickly as possible. They also prioritize repairs that restore service to critical facilities such as hospitals, water pumping stations, and police and fire departments.

As they work to restore power to all customers, you may see a neighbor’s lights on, while your location remains in the dark. Different parts of a neighborhood may be on different circuits, and not all circuits are restored, at one time. Sometimes, a problem only affects service to your home. Whenever you experience an outage, you can report it to PG&E using your mobile device. Visit PG&E’s Report and View Electric Outages website or call 1-800-743-5002.