First rain of season causes thousands in Fresno to lose power. PG&E cites dust on lines
Power went out for thousands of Fresno residents Tuesday night as the first rainstorm of the autumn season rolled in and caused problems.
A large swath of central Fresno — from Golden State Boulevard on the west to Temperance Avenue on the east, and Ashlan Avenue on the north to Kings Canyon Road on the south — was in dark after the rainfall.
To the south of Fresno, up to 5,000 customers also lost power in Kingsburg. PG&E later listed on its outage map that 568 Kingsburg customers were affected.
Denny Boyles, a spokesman for Pacific Gas & Electric Company, said most of the outages appeared to be related to a long, dry summer that left a residue of dust on power lines.
When the rainfall hits the lines, it can cause electrical short circuits and outages.
Something else that often happens with the first rain also took place: numerous traffic collisions as drivers reacquainted themselves with wet streets.
In one case, a crash at Fulton Street and Belmont Avenue knocked down power lines. There were several other crashes, as well.
Earlier, power was out in north Fresno as the area at Blackstone Avenue and Friant Road went dark about 4 p.m. Lights were back on by 7 p.m.
There initially was no immediate information from the utility on when the lights would be restored for most customers in the remainder of the darkened areas.
But by 11 p.m., PG&E’s outage map did not show anymore areas impacting 500-plus customers in the Fresno area.
Tuesday marked the first time it rained in Fresno since Sept. 19, according to the National Weather Service in Hanford.
Meteorologist David Spector said there’s also a chance it could rain again at some point Wednesday with a similar downpour as Tuesday when 0.13 inches of rain was recorded at Fresno Yosemite International Airport.
“The initial wave of rain came today,” Spector said Tuesday evening. “But we could still see some showers sometime in the morning or evening. The weather is chilly and unsettled.”
In the Sierra Nevada, the storm brought a light dusting of snow. Ahead of the storm’s arrival, Yosemite National Park closed Tioga Road at least temporarily. The high mountain pass usually closes for the season sometime in November.
This story was originally published November 1, 2022 at 6:32 PM.