'Worse than Y2K': Millions without power in California blackouts
Around 2.5 million Californians continued to be without power overnight Thursday, as utility Pacific Gas and Electric warned of extreme fire weather conditions.
The blackouts began Wednesday, hitting more than 500,000 homes and businesses north of San Francisco Bay, in Wine Country, the Central Valley and the Sierra Nevada foothills, where a November wildfire blamed on PG&E transmission lines killed 85 people and virtually incinerated the town of Paradise.
Late Wednesday night, after a full day of delays, PG&E began cutting power in the Bay Area, excluding the city of San Francisco.
The preemptive outages wreaked havoc on everyday life, leading to gas shortages, canceling university classes and generating significant anger at PG&E.
Armando Espinoza delivers paper products to a cafe in downtown Sonoma, Calif., where power is turned off, on Wednesday, Oct. 9, 2019. Pacific Gas & Electric has cut power to more than half a million customers in Northern California hoping to prevent wildfires during dry, windy weather throughout the region. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
"It's just kind of scary. It feels worse than Y2K. We don't know how long," said Tianna Pasche of Oakland. "My two kids, their school situation keeps moving every second. It's not clear if we need to pack for a week and go out of town or what to do. So I'm just trying to make sure we have water, food, charging stations and gas."
UC Berkeley cancels Thursday classes
The University of California, Berkeley canceled all classes Thursday, after the campus lost power.
"While life safety concerns are our priority, we know that losing a day of classes is disruptive to our institution and its mission, that it affects course schedules and outreach efforts, and that it disturbs research operations – sometimes significantly," the university said in a statement.
Suspects busted burglarizing cars in the dark
Morgan Hill Police arrested two suspects breaking into cars during the blackout.
Residents reported hearing sirens blaring late into the night.
PG&E office vandalized
A utility office in Oroville closed Wednesday after a witness said eggs were thrown at the office.
PG&E website crashes
The utility's website went in and out of service Wednesday, so it set up a new website where customers can get the latest information.
Good news: Power coming back for some
PG&E said 60,000 to 80,000 customers could see their power restored by Thursday morning. 50,000 customers in the Sierra Foothills also got their power back after the Wednesday shutoff.
PG&E said it has 6,300 employees and 45 helicopters working to inspect its power lines as it works to restore power. Officials say they are working to inspect "every inch" of the company's equipment.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.