In the midst of a heat wave, PG&E reported power outages throughout the Bay Area Sunday. This included outages in the North and East Bay, which were caused specifically by the weather.
As of 9:00 p.m. Sunday night, PG&E reported a total of 11,608 customers without power across the Bay Area with 11,143 of those customers in the East Bay. By 10:00 p.m. Sunday night, PG&E reported a total of 10,560 customers around the Bay Area without power, with 10,149 of those customers in the East Bay.
A PG&E spokesperson said Sunday night that at last check these outages, "were still under investigation but the cause was likely heat related."
The power outages threw a wrench in plans in Orinda. An afternoon movie showing came to an end when the power went out at the Orinda Theater. A video from inside the theater shows a crowded lobby as people exited the theater.
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Derek Zemrak, the owner and operator of the Orinda Theatre explained in an email that the theater lost power at 5:45 p.m. while more than 160 people were in the theater.
"We cannot win!" Zemrak continued. "Busiest weekend since Top Gun Maverick."
PG&E reported about 3,444 customers lost power in Orinda.
Among the customers in Orinda without power was AJ Glassman, owner of The Fish Barn, a fish supply store.
"I was surprised that it happened because yesterday was way hotter so I didn’t expect something like this to happen today," Glassman said. He explained that when the power outage hit Sunday, he immediately worried about the well-being of the thousands of fish at his store.
“I had to go and buy a generator because we opened about a month ago, I wasn’t ready for this and fish need oxygen and air in the water in order to survive," he continued.
PG&E said around 6:25 p.m. Sunday that power was out to 3,769 customers in the Ygnacio Valley Road area in Walnut Creek.
The outage started at 4:44 p.m. in the Northgate area, between Walnut Avenue and Oak Grove Road, mostly south of Ygnacio Valley Road.
Bay City News contributed to the report.
