SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO : Winds Knock Out Power Downtown

A power failure that blacked out a two-block section of downtown for several hours Wednesday night was blamed on a connecting wire that was dislodged by high winds, said a spokesman for San Diego Gas & Electric Co.

“The high winds we experienced all day kept rubbing a eucalyptus tree against the wire until it finally failed,” said Tom Larimore, a spokesman for the utility. The wire was a 12-kilovolt “jumper piece” on an electrical pole at the corner of Los Rios and Verdugo streets near Amtrak’s San Juan Depot.

At least 20 residents and businesses were affected by the blackout, which caused lights to flick starting about 5 p.m. and then finally blacked out until after 8 p.m., Larimore said. Sheriff’s deputies were called to direct traffic on Camino Capistrano, where two traffic lights and the street lights failed.

Most businesses in the area were forced to close, including Sarducci’s Cafe, where “we served everyone who was already inside and turned a lot of customers away,” said Robert Van Dyke, a restaurant employee.