Fire Crews Respond To Power Outage, Then Lead Parade

A downed power line along Magnolia Avenue in Larkspur could have been a serious disruption to Wednesday's Twin Cities Fourth of July Parade. Fortunately, organizers put Twin Cities Police and Larkspur and Corte Madera fire units at the head of the parade.

Unusually high winds caused a small branch fell onto PG&E wires near the intersection of Magnolia Avenue and Wiltshire Avenue just before the parade was scheduled to start at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday. The arc that was created by the branch caused the transformer fronting 27 Magnolia Avenue to fail. The effect of the electrical arc and failed transformer caused, according to PG&E, approximately 3,500 customers to lose power within portions of Larkspur, Corte Madera and Mill Valley.  

Fire crews from Larkspur and Corte Madera who were part of the parade stopped and quickly assessed the situation, according to Larkspur Fire Chief Robert Sinnott. 

"Fire crews deployed cones and warning tape to keep the crowds away from the problem area and determined that no lines had in fact fallen. This is extremely fortunate due to the numbers of people in the vicinity to view the parade.   PG&E's response was quite impressive. Crews were on scene within approximately 20 minutes of the incident.  This is especially remarkable considering that, not only was it a holiday, but on a busy parade route."

PG&E had the power restored to all customers within approximately 60 minutes.