What would usually be a bustling day at Cuesta College looked very different Thursday as a Public Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS) forced classes online and left portions of San Luis Obispo County without electricity.
Tens of thousands of PG&E customers across California woke up without power after dry, windy conditions prompted the utility company to proactively shut off electricity in areas considered at elevated wildfire risk.
PG&E says the PSPS is intended to reduce the risk of wildfire sparked by energized power lines. The company says the outage could last as long as two days.
More than 4,400 customers in San Luis Obispo County were affected Thursday, including parts of Cal Poly’s campus.
Cal Poly graduate student Leo Alvelais said he quickly realized something was wrong when he arrived on campus.
I put two and two together because the elevator wasnt working, and then I also couldn’t buzz in through the door with my tag, Alvelais said.
University officials said the outage is limited to a small portion of campus, primarily affecting agricultural operations and facilities.
One of the impacted locations is Cal Polys Wine and Viticulture Building, where Goleta resident Marion Wittmann arrived Thursday morning for a scheduled meeting.
We had to make a decision about whether we were going to still meet or not, and we decided to still meet, Wittmann said.
Wittmann’s colleague Sydney Anthoni said the outage required some quick adjustments.
We had to reorganize and cram into our little tiny office here, Anthoni said.
The effects of the outage were even more visible at Cuesta College’s San Luis Obispo campus. Normally crowded hallways and parking lots were nearly empty after the college moved classes fully online because of the power shutoff.
Just across Highway 1, Dairy Creek Golf Course was also adapting to the outage.
Golf course supervisor Joe Oles said backup generators have allowed the main course and driving range to remain open. However, the course’s Swing Time facility was forced to close, and staff are operating with limited resources.
It just kind of limits our capacity. We can only help one customer at a time, Oles said.
San Luis Obispo resident James Reed noticed the effects firsthand while visiting the course.
Little bit of a backup in the office to check out. Theyre doing what they can, Reed said.
Reed also encountered a darkened traffic signal at the intersection of Highway 1 and Dairy Creek Road.
Theres nothing blinking, no nothing, and so people didnt know how to handle it, Reed said.
Emergency officials remind drivers that intersections with non-functioning traffic signals should be treated as four-way stops.
According to PG&E, the Public Safety Power Shutoff is expected to remain in effect through Saturday evening.
You can click here for a link to PG&E’s updated outage map.