Thousands without power along Central Coast following lightning strikes

SANTA YNEZ VALLEY, Calif. - Pacific Gas and Electric reported multiple power outages affecting thousands of residences after a thunderstorm traveled across the area Saturday morning.

Santa Barbara County Fire received reports of at least 10 brush fires within the northern part of the county within a couple of hours of the thunderstorm. Lightning strikes are believed to have started most of the fires.

SLO County began responding to fires and receiving lightning-related calls not long after.

PG&E reported the first outages in the Santa Ynez Valley around 9:22 a.m. affecting over 8,000 customers.

More and more outages continued to pop up as the thunderstorm made its way north into the Santa Maria and San Luis Obispo areas later that morning.

At around 10:40 a.m., residents throughout the entire City of Lompoc were without power. PG&E reported lines down near the area. Crews are working to restore power to the city, however, they are not sure exactly when that will occur. Lompoc asked residents not to call the city about these outages.

For more information on PG&E outages and their locations, click here.

We will update this story as more information becomes available.