SACRAMENTO, Calif. (PSN) — More than 3,000 SMUD customers lost electrical service for approximately 45 minutes early Tuesday morning after a widespread power outage affected a portion of Midtown Sacramento.
Based on PSN observations, the outage began at approximately midnight and affected an area generally bounded by 16th Street to the west, K Street to the north, 21st Street to the east, and N Street to the south.
According to the SMUD outage map, approximately 3,170 customers were without power at the height of the outage.
PSN observed SMUD crews arriving shortly after the outage began and immediately starting work to identify the problem and restore electrical service. As of publication, the utility had not announced the cause of the outage.
The outage also disrupted Midtown's nightlife. Several bars and nightclubs in Sacramento's Lavender Heights entertainment district lost power and closed early, sending patrons onto surrounding sidewalks and streets before the normal end of the evening.
With numerous traffic signals dark throughout the affected area, PSN observed several motorists failing to treat the intersections as four-way stops, creating hazardous conditions for drivers, pedestrians and cyclists.
Under California law, motorists are required to treat intersections with inoperative traffic signals as four-way stops, yielding the right-of-way before proceeding.
Electrical service was restored at approximately 12:45 a.m. Tuesday, returning power to affected homes and businesses and allowing traffic signals to resume normal operation.