PG&E reports several problems knocked out power to 17,902 customers Tuesday morning.
A power pole caught fire at 30th Street and Union Avenue and fell over, toppling several circuits at the PG&E substation on the way down. It's unclear what caused the fire.
Power was initially out to about 22,000 PG&E customers.
"Most power will be restored by 12:30 p.m.," PG&E spokeswoman Cindy Pollard said.
Still, 3,000 customers will remain without power as crews work to sort out remaining power transmission issues.
Garces High School and Our Lady of Perpetual Help canceled classes for the day.
The Superintendent of Schools did not report any other power outage closures.
Traffic was snarled across the county due to non-working traffic signals.
Power was also out at the county building downtown. County employees have been instructed to return at 1 p.m.
The 9 a.m. agenda for the Board of Supervisors has been delayed by one week. The 2 p.m. agenda will go on as scheduled, if the power is retored by 1 p.m.
A spokesman from PG&E says they were experiencing a high volume of calls due to power outages across the state. It's unclear if the outage in Bakersfield is connected to those outages.
I hear people are lined up at the Starbucks on California Ave. Also, some businesses and restaurants are being affected.
Got questions about the outage? Places and business that are closed or open? Shoot me a message. Also, send us your pictures of outage-related problems at newsinfo@kget.com
-Kiyoshi
