#HoldOntoYourHat: Winds Causing Havoc In Bay Area

Around 24,000 customers have lost power in the Bay Area today due to high winds, PG&E officials said this afternoon.

Around 16,000 of those customers had their power restored as of around 12:30 p.m., leaving about 8,000 still without power, PG&E officials said.

The majority of those are in the East Bay, where around 6,350 customers remain without power this afternoon, and in the North Bay where 940 customers are affected.

PG&E has about 1,500 personnel out working to clear downed vegetation and lines and restore service.

“We are still seeing windy weather and I think we’ll be seeing that all day,” utility spokeswoman Brittany McKannay said. “We’re going to continue to see outages today and we’re going to be continuing to restore them into the evening.”

The high winds are also causing problems with BART, with trains running at reduced speeds due to reports of wind-blown debris on the tracks systemwide and service halted altogether in part of San Francisco due to downed trees.

Two large trees have fallen on the BART tracks between the Balboa Park and Glen Park stations in San Francisco this afternoon, bringing service to a halt in the area, according to BART officials.

Service has stopped in both directions between Daly City and the 24th Street Mission station in San Francisco due to the blockage, which was reported around 1:15 p.m., according to BART spokesman Jim Allison.

Service in the East Bay is not affected by the closure but reports of debris on the tracks in multiple locations are causing systemwide delays, Allison said.

Passengers are being encouraged to use parallel San Francisco Municipal Railway bus service in the area.

And travelers can expect delays of up to 89 minutes at San Francisco International Airport today because of windy conditions, an airport duty manager said.

A delay program is in effect at the airport until 10 p.m. today.

“That doesn’t mean all the flights are delayed, but there could be some,” SFO duty manager Bob Rotiski said.

Ground delay programs, also known as “flow control,” are used when the Federal Aviation Administration slows the arrival rate of incoming aircraft getting ready to land, according to the airport.

The National Weather Service has announced a hazardous weather outlook in the Bay Area due to strong and gusty winds.

National Weather Service officials said the strongest winds would be felt in the Bay Area through noon Wednesday and could reach speeds of up to 45 mph.

Wind gusts could reach up to 55 mph in the North and East Bay.

And in Concord: Traffic Alert: Winds Down Trees on Concord Avenue Near I-680. On-ramp to freeway expected to be closed for hours, according to CHP.

--Bay City News

--Image via Morguefile

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