Extra

Approximately 1,000 West Berkeley PG&E customers were without power for more than four hours on Thursday. 

According to a PG&E spokeswoman, the power outages were caused by a burnt power line cross-arm. PG&E will investigate the cause of the burnout after power is restored to customers. 

Electricity shut off at approximately 9:30 a.m. and was briefly restored for several short intervals before returning at nearly 2 p.m. 

Both residents and industrial companies scattered through West Berkeley felt the inconvenience of the outage. Many traffic lights in West Berkeley, including some along San Pablo Avenue, were shut off, causing some difficulty in travel.  

Employees of Seeo, Inc., a chemical company in the Aquatic Gardens business complex near Aquatic Park, reportedly considered playing frisbee to pass the time. Other companies, including Bayer, were able to continue operations using back-up generators.