Update: 70,000 without power on Central Coast
UPDATE 2/17/2017 9:10 AM:
Over 70,000 PG&E customers are without power due to ferocious winds that downed trees and power lines in Monterey, San Benito and Santa Cruz counties.
PG&E spokesperson Mayra Tostado tells KION that winds knocked down two transmission poles and threatens to take down even more. Tostado said the winds are also affecting operations at a PG&E substation in Salinas.
At the height of the storm, over 100,000 customers were without power.
PG&E has called in outside resources from the Bay Area and other locations, but in some cases, crews have been forced to stand down due to safety concerns.
The company reminds anyone who encounters a downed power line to treat it as live, and call 911 immediately.
UPDATE 2/17/2017 8:40 AM: More than 5,000 people from Pacific Grove to Pebble Beach are without power. Estimated restoration is currently unknown.
For the most up-to-date power outages head to the PG&E website.
UPDATE 2/17/2017 7:46 AM: Winds in excess of 50 mph have downed trees, closed roads, and knocked out power to thousands of people on the Central Coast this morning.
The numbers keep changing, but PG&E reports over 15,000 customers in Salinas are without power.
In Hollister, nearly 6,000 are affected. Around 1,700 customers in Chualar and Spreckels are without power, as are some 4,000 customers in Carmel Valley and the Highway 68 corridor.
A tree is blocking parts of the eastbound lane of Highway 68 near Laguna Seca, and a downed tree has forced the closure of North Main Street near Sherwood Gardens in Salinas.
Other outages include: 3,500 customers in Marina and Castroville, 300 in Bonny Doon, and 250 in Soquel.
ORIGINAL STORY: Friday’s storm has produced widespread power outages across the Central Coast.
As of 6:45 this morning, the following outages were reported by PG&E:
Salinas: Over 14,000 customers
Chualar and Spreckels: Nearly 1,700
Carmel Valley/Highway 68 corridor: More than 4,000
Marina: Nearly 1,300
Hollister: Over 1,000
Bonny Doon: Over 300.
