BURLINGAME, Calif. (KGO) — The lights were out for most businesses along the busy Broadway corridor in Burlingame Wednesday.
Crews shut down several streets and set up caution tape in the area in the late morning.
In a statement, PG&E tells ABC7 News:
“A hazardous substance from a third party source- not PG&E- has leaked into electric vaults in the area. We are proactively deenergizing some customers in the area for safety. Hazmat crews are on-site and will work to clear the vaults.”
MORE: Frustrated SF Sunset District residents, merchants demand more PG&E credits for power outages
Outside Weimax Wines and Spirits, owner Gerald Weisl says the power problems have been ongoing for days.
“We’ve had four power outages since Sunday. And, it shuts us down. It disrupts business. I don’t know whether I should tell the staff to go home or stick around,” said Weisl.
Down the road at Maverick Jack’s, we also spoke with Michael Mallie.
Mallie tells ABC7 News he’s frustrated with the repeated outages and wants more transparency from PG&E.
“If there was a direct communication other than an email with a tenuous timeline, it would be better to know what’s going on,” said Mallie.
MORE: PG&E bills to go down for most customers in the new year: Here’s how much
Mallie says in addition to the uncertainty losing power creates, it could also have financial repercussions too if the food in storage in his restaurant goes bad.
“We’ve had to move all of our product in refrigerated bags over to our other location,” he said.
While crews worked to resolve the issue, PG&E brought out generators to try and get the power back on for those affected.
In the meantime, though, some like the employees at JoJo Nail Salon said they were just going to work in the dark.
“This is the first time I’m having a manicure with no lights and with an iPhone,” said customer Svetlana Elgart.
Copyright © 2026 KGO-TV. All Rights Reserved.
