Outage knocks out power to downtown Los Banos

A bird apparently caused a power outage that left dozens of homes and businesses in central Los Banos without electricity Thursday morning, according to Pacific Gas & Electric Co.

A bird apparently made contact with two lines, knocking out power to about 39 utility customers in the area of I and Sixth streets, according to Denny Boyles, a spokesman for PG&E in Fresno.

“A bird on one line is not going to cause on problem. A bird on two is when you’re going to have a problem,” Boyles said.

Customers were without power for about 70 minutes before service was restored, Boyles said.

Several businesses in the downtown area made do without electricity.

City Hall, which has a backup generator, remained open and operating, said Debra Fisher, an accounting clerk.

This story was originally published September 8, 2016 at 4:42 PM with the headline "Outage knocks out power to downtown Los Banos."