San Francisco plunged into darkness when nearly 30 percent of the city was struck by a massive power outage on Saturday night.

Over 130,000 houses and businesses were left in the dark, largely in the northwest part of San Francisco, including the Richmond, Sunset, Presidio, and Golden Gate Park sections, officials said on Saturday. 

As of early Sunday morning, just over 36,000 people were still without power.

The “citywide” outages forced Waymo to halt its driverless car service, stranding the autonomous vehicles in the middle of the streets, SF Gate reported.

“We have temporarily suspended our ride-hailing services given the broad power outage in San Francisco,” a Waymo spokesperson told the outlet. “We are focused on keeping our riders safe and ensuring emergency personnel have the clear access they need to do their work.”

The company shut down its operation at around 8 p.m. because the cars were unable to operate without traffic signals. Residents shared footage of the Waymo vehicles parked with their hazards flashing 

At least four Waymo vehicles were parked in the middle of an intersection with their hazards on, creating a large traffic jam at the busy intersection in the North Beach neighborhood, according to video posted to X.

One passenger was left stranded inside one of the self-driving vehicles during the outage, footage obtained by the outlet showed.

A portion of the outages was blamed on a fire that broke out at a Pacific Gas and Electric substation at 8th and Mission streets in downtown San Francisco Saturday afternoon. 

The outages began as early as 9:40 a.m. Pacific Gas and Electric Co. was aware of the outages and said crews were working to restore power.

Power was restored to approximately 90,000 customers just after 10 p.m. local time, Mayor Daniel Lurie announced on X.

Crews were continuing to work on the remaining 36,000 customers on early Sunday.

“For those of you that do not have power, we want you to make sure you stay safe,” Lurie said.

The 48-year-old Democrat advised residents to check on neighbors but to remember to blow out all candles they may have been using before going to bed.

“I know there’s a lot going on out there, but people really stepped up tonight and will overnight as well,” Lurie said.

Police officer presence was ramped up in the areas without power to “ensure the safety of those still on the road,” he added.

PG&E says the grid has been stabilized, and the company is not expecting any more customers to be affected.

Rail lines and traffic signals were shut down by the outage, with city officials urging residents not to travel for the remainder of the night.

City buses had their routes changed, bypassing certain stops that were affected by the outages.

“Significant transit disruptions” were reported by the San Francisco Department of Emergency Management across the city.

With Post wires

A large power outage left almost 40,000 PG&E customers without electricity in San Francisco Saturday, according to the company.

The PG&E Outage Center first reported the outage was affecting 24,842 customers, but a few minutes later, PG&E told NBC Bay Area the outage was affecting 39,520 households in the areas of Richmond, Sunset, Presidio, Golden Gate Park and parts of downtown.

Officials warned traffic lights in these areas might be impacted and advise that if the traffic signal has gone dark, to treat it as a four-way stop.

According to the website, the outage was first reported at 10:10 a.m. and is expected to be restored at around 3:40 p.m., but PG&E told NBC Bay Area the outage started at around 1:10 p.m. and the estimated time of restoration is unknown.

This is a developing story. Details may change as more information becomes available. Stay tuned for updates.

In San Francisco’s Sunset District, controversy continues over what to do with the Great Highway.

Friday, the newly-appointed supervisor for that district, Alan Wong, confirmed he is running to keep his job. He also shared that he would support a ballot measure that would bring cars back to the now-closed stretch of road. Some residents in the district already said they would be prepared to fight back against that ballot measure if it came to fruition.

This has been a politically tumultuous year for the Sunset District. In November of 2024, San Francisco voters narrowly approved Proposition K, which moved to close the highway along Ocean Beach to cars and to transform it into a park. In March of 2025, the stretch of road was permanently closed to cars, and in April, the area was officially reopened as Sunset Dunes Park. In September, voters recalled then-Supervisor Joel Engardio, with many in the campaign against Engardio expressing frustration with his support for turning the Great Highway into a park. In November, Mayor Daniel Lurie appointed Isabella “Beya” Alcaraz as the new supervisor for District 4, only to have her resign a week later amid growing questions about her actions as a small business owner.

At the start of December, Mayor Lurie swore in Alan Wong as his new appointee to serve as supervisor in District 4. Wong grew up in the Sunset, attended Lincoln High School, and has served as both an elected member of the San Francisco City College Board of Trustees and as a legislative aid to former supervisor Gordon Mar.

In an interview with NBC Bay Area on Friday, Wong shared that he has not hidden the fact that he voted no on Prop. K in the 2024 election. However, in his first three weeks in office, Wong said he set out to “have conversations with different constituent groups and listen to them” about the issues.

“After three weeks of listening and having these conversations, I believe that my values and how I voted before align with the majority of the district,” Wong said.

San Francisco Supervisor Alan Wong supports a ballot measure that calls for cars to return to the Great Highway.

“And as the district supervisor, I need to take a leadership role in representing the district that I am here to serve,” he continued.

Wong said he is now prepared to be one of the four supervisors supporting a ballot initiative to reopen the Great Highway to cars on weekdays.

Molly Rose, with Sunset Parent Advocates, worries that when Wong was listening to community voices over the past three weeks, some voices may have been left out.

“If he talked to the Sunset residents, he didn’t talk to me, and he didn’t talk to us– the family groups I am a part of,” Rose said.

“We are all very pro-park, we use it very heavily as a park,” she continued.

Rose said there are several hundred parents involved with her group. As a parent, Rose said her children love going to the park there.

“Sunset Dunes is the place where I take my kids to have a safe place to play,” she said.

Rose said that she has been asking for Wong to meet with her group, but has been waiting to hear back from his scheduling team.

Wong’s office confirmed that Rose is in touch with their office and that Wong’s scheduler is “actively coordinating a time” for them to meet.

“While I do think there is a very loud, anti-park contingent of people in the Sunset, I don’t think they’re the majority,” Rose emphasized.