Western Addition High Schools, Businesses Lose Power Following PG&E Vault Fire

Several businesses as well as two high schools on Geary between Scott and Steiner were still without power Monday morning after a late-night PG&E vault fire erupted near the two schools.

The fire erupted shortly before midnight near KIPP San Francisco Bay Academy and Gateway High School at Geary Boulevard and Scott Street, sending flames and heavy black smoke into the area, as ABC 7 reports. More than 1,200 PG&E customers were reportedly without power.

Video captured by TikTok user Rob Deezy showed flames rising out of the ground near the schools, which share a building on Scott Street near Geary, while the fire charred nearby parking meters and left visible burn marks on the sidewalk. PG&E said the blaze was caused by an equipment failure, which remains under investigation.

While power was reportedly restored for most customers by Monday morning, the outage was still affecting the two schools, as well as businesses at a nearby strip mall. According to ABC 7, administrators were assessing Monday whether the schools could operate without power.

Nearby, Jane the Bakery also remained without power Monday morning. The bakery said on social media its staff had been waiting for the power to return since 2 am, and while some food was still available, much of its pastry selection would have to wait until the electricity was restored.

San Francisco Fire Department Captain Mariano Elias said firefighters allowed the underground fire to burn itself out while coordinating with PG&E, noting that crews avoid using water on electrical or oil fires.

“These do happen every once in a while and we do respond to them,” Elias said, speaking to ABC 7. “We do work together with our partners, PG&E, to make sure that the residents are safe and that we don't apply water to any electrical or oil fires.”

Last month, a separate underground vault fire occurred near Haight and Cole streets in the Upper Haight, which caused a brief outage for 75 customers and prompted firefighters to issue a shelter-in-place order, as KRON4 reported.

Additionally, last December’s massive blackout affecting 130,000 customers also began with a vault fire. An investigation found that the fire was likely caused by a combination of equipment damage, moisture buildup, and the layout of the facility. December’s blackout renewed criticism from San Francisco officials pushing to separate the city from PG&E’s power infrastructure, with city leaders urging the California Public Utilities Commission to take stronger action against the utility.

State Senator Scott Wiener also introduced legislation earlier this year that would have enabled cities to “break up” with PG&E and start their own utilities, but the bill didn’t pass.

Related: Report Reveals December PG&E Substation Fire, Outages Caused By Moisture Buildup, Other Issues