Lightning strikes across Bay Area cause residents to lose power in some cities

Amy Hollyfield Image
ByAmy Hollyfield KGO logo
Tuesday, September 12, 2017
Lightning strikes across Bay Area cause residents to lose power
PG&E is working to restore power for customers in parts of the Bay Area after lightning strikes caused outages on Monday evening.

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- PG&E is working to restore power for customers in parts of the Bay Area after lightning strikes lit up the sky Monday afternoon.

At the San Francisco International Airport, officials said a worker on the runway was worried he was struck by lightning because his ears were ringing. Paramedics responded and treated him, but they couldn't find evidence the ringing was caused by a lightning strike. Officials said he is OK.

RELATED: Lightning surges across Bay Area as storms bring rain

Both viewers and ABC7 News reporters have sent in incredible video of rare lightning around the Bay Area.

The lightning strikes prompted airport officials to get employees working on the runway inside on Monday.

RELATED: Bay Area skies dazzle as lightning electrifies the night

Officials said at the peak of the thunderstorm, at least 1,872 PG&E customers lost power in parts of the Bay Area.

At this time, there are 565 customers on the Peninsula that are still without power, and in San Francisco at least 541 remain without power.

Cal's Fire Santa Clara unit did respond to some spot fires triggered by lightning and was able to extinguish them quickly before they caused any problems on Monday.

Weather officials said on social media that about 1,200 cloud-to-ground lightning strikes occurred and nearly 7,000 total

flashes were recorded Monday for the entire Bay Area.

Click here to download the ABC7 News App to get your weather forecast on the go. And make sure you enable push alerts for immediate notifications and severe weather alerts.

Bay City News contributed to this story.