Power Outages in Santa Cruz County affecting over 3,000 residents
APTOS, Calif. (KION) Over 3,000 residents in Santa Cruz County are left in the dark after reports of downed power lines near Valencia Road in Aptos.
According to the Pacific Gas and Electric Company outage map, areas along Freedom Boulevard, north of Watsonville, Green Valley, and Mount Madonna County Park contain the most residents affected.
Cal Fire CZU's Public Information Officer, Cecile Juliette, says PG&E was on the way to fix the downed lines, however an exact cause for the outages is still yet to be determined. According to PG&E's map, the estimated time of restoration is just after midnight.
About an hour earlier, fire crews responded to a 20x20 foot vegetation fire on Valencia Road, which is now fully contained despite some high winds. Even though the downed power lines were nearby, the cause of the fire is still under investigation.
According to KION's chief meteorologist, there are wind gusts up to 60 miles per hour on the ridge at Ormsby Cutoff, just north of Corralitos and the Santa Cruz Mountains. The National Weather Service is reporting a high wind advisory in effect until 4 a.m.
