Update: Power restored to thousands of PG&E customers in SLO County
Update, 12:15 p.m.:
PG&E had restored power to thousands of customers in Atascadero by about noon on Thursday, according to company spokesperson Carina Corral.
Update, 10:45 a.m.:
The power outage in Atascadero was caused by PG&E’s “enhanced powerline safety settings,” Corral told The Tribune via email.
“These settings allow our power lines to automatically turn off power within one-tenth of a second when there is a hazard, like a tree branch falling into a power line,” she wrote.
Typically, high-fire danger areas have power lines with these settings, according to Corral.
Areas adjacent to these fire hazard areas may also have power lines with the enhanced settings, she said.
Much of the area around the city of Atascadero is categorized as being a “very high” or “high” fire hazard severity zone, according to Cal Fire.
PG&E crews were patrolling the area affected by the power outage Thursday to look for any hazards and make sure it is safe to restore power to customers in Atascadero, Corral wrote in her email.
Original story:
Thousands of PG&E customers were without power Thursday morning as the National Weather Service issued a heat advisory for much of inland San Luis Obispo County.
More than 3,000 Atascadero customers lost power around 7 a.m. Thursday, PG&E’s online power outage map showed.
The number of affected customers had dropped to 2,195 by 9:45 a.m.
The outage was mostly around central and northern Atascadero, stretching along both sides of Highway 101 from San Benito Road south to Curbaril Avenue, the outage map showed.
The outage was expected to be resolved by around 1:15 p.m., according to the utility company.
The cause of the outage was unknown what the outage was caused by as of early Thursday morning.
Heat wave hits SLO County
The Weather Service was predicting sweltering heat on Thursday, with high temperatures expected to reach 98 degrees.
Areas including Atascadero, Paso Robles, Templeton and Carrizo Plain were expected to be impacted by the heat advisory on Thursday, according to the Weather Service.
Keeping cool while the power is out could prove challenging.
The San Luis Obispo County Public Health Department advises people to avoid exercising or working outdoors during the hottest times of the day.
People should also wear lightweight clothing, and take cool showers or baths if possible, the public health department advises. Residents should also drink plenty of water, and avoid alcohol and sugary beverages, according to the public health department.
The Atascadero Library at 6555 Capistrano Ave. was not being impacted by the current PG&E power outage.
