An underground electrical vault fire near Van Ness Avenue and Bush Street in San Francisco knocked out power to about 2,775 PG&E customers in the Tenderloin and part of Civic Center on Wednesday evening, Oct. 21, 2026. The San Francisco Fire Department responded at about 7:45 p.m. and put out the fire, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.
Where the power went out
The outage covered the Tenderloin between Geary Boulevard and McAllister Street, plus a portion of Civic Center, according to local reports. About 2,775 customers were without power as of 8 p.m.
When it came back
PG&E crews worked on the damaged equipment, and most customers had electricity back by about 9:15 p.m. Muni rerouted affected bus lines while emergency vehicles blocked streets in the area. The cause of the vault fire is still under investigation.
If your power is still out, check your main breaker first, then report it to PG&E. More city news is on our San Francisco page.