Merced outage leaves many without power

California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection firefighters and PG&E staff responded Thursday night to a small transformer fire at a substation near Highway 59 and Mission Avenue, according to Cal Fire Battalion Chief Brian Neely.

Neely said the fire was reported sometime around 7 p.m. According to PG&E’s website, nearly 4,000 customers were left without power. Many of those customers reside south of Highway 99. The zone of those affected extended outside city limit to almost Sandy Mush Road.

The fire was contained by 8:40 p.m. and power was restored to most customers.

This story was originally published January 15, 2015 at 8:39 PM with the headline "Merced outage leaves many without power."