Massive power outage in Santa Maria lasts nearly 15 hours

Left without power for hours, some Santa Maria residents say this power outage is the worst they’ve ever experienced.

“I was watching tv and then I heard a big boom. I’ve lived here since 1986 [and this has] never happened, this is the first time,” says Maria Cortez.

A representative from PG&E says that a cross arm that holds the power line together broke off the pole on Oakley Avenue and West Cypress Street. Crew members suspect the broken equipment was likely due to the strong storm winds Thursday evening. Residents on these streets had to wait nearly 15 hours for the power to be restored leaving many wondering what went wrong.

“This time the company didn’t call or anything.. What happened?,” asks Cortez.

While some people got frustrated with the outage, other neighbors say you can’t get angry with Mother Nature.

“There’s nothing we can do about it – Mother Nature comes in with a lot of power sometimes and you know and these things happen. Our infrastructure is getting older so it’s bound to break down and when it happens you just gotta wait it out,” says Lauro Villanueva.

Winds in Santa Maria were recorded between 15-20 miles per hour on Thursday.