Downed Power Line That Caused Outage Also Started Small Fire

A high-tension PG&E power line that came down in the backyard of a San Carlos home on Wednesday night left , some for more than six hours.

The power line came down just before 6:30 p.m. on Dartmouth Avenue, prompting the power outage that affected 3,768 customers throughout the three cities, PG&E spokesman J.D. Guidi said.

The downed power line also caused a small brush fire, Belmont-San Carlos Fire Marshal Jim Palisi said on Thursday.

Fourteen firefighters responded to tackle the blaze, which initially was reported as a structure fire, he said. The flames were contained before any structures were burned.

But the outage -- which lasted between several minutes and several hours in various parts of the cities -- left residents puzzled as to why lights were flickering and going out completely.

Residents reported experiencing both a "brown out" and a "black out," and some stores along El Camino Real including Safeway and Starbucks lost power too.

Palisi said none of the four Belmont-San Carlos Fire Stations lost power, but they are all equipped with backup generators in case they are affected by a power outage.

PG&E is investigating the incident. Patch will update this story as more information is released regarding what caused the high-tension power line to come down.