Home / Disasters and Accidents / SF Blackout: Fire Sparks Citywide Power Chaos
SF Blackout: Fire Sparks Citywide Power Chaos
22 Dec, 2025
Summary
- A fire at a power facility plunged 130,000 customers into darkness.
- Over 22,000 customers remained without power the following morning.
- Self-driving cars stalled, causing traffic jams due to lack of traffic lights.
A significant fire at a San Francisco power facility on the afternoon of December 20 caused a widespread power outage, affecting up to 130,000 PG&E customers. The blaze, which occurred at a substation on 8th Street and Mission Street, led to extensive damage. Repairs are expected to be complex, and PG&E has not provided a definite timeline for full restoration.
By the morning of December 21, more than 22,000 customers remained without power, with the majority of outages concentrated in the Presidio and Richmond districts. This event echoes a similar outage in 2003 linked to the same substation, which occurred shortly before Christmas.
The power failure also disrupted autonomous vehicle services. Waymo vehicles reportedly stopped operating in intersections, leading to traffic congestion as they struggled with the absence of traffic signals. The company confirmed rides were temporarily suspended and is coordinating with city officials for service resumption.
