SACRAMENTO, Calif. — About 100 seniors are expected to temporarily take shelter at Sacramento City Hall after a substation explosion left their building without power.
“The city is stepping up as it always does in a crisis big time. Tonight, we expect about a hundred of those seniors from the one building and others as the fire chief and his team evaluate the conditions of those buildings and whether people within in them are safe to remain where they are,” said Mayor Darrell Steinberg.
The Sacramento Municipal Utility District said one of their substations at 6th and H streets were damaged by an on-site fire. Roughly 1,300 people in the downtown area lost power when SMUD deenergized the substation. Power isn't expected to be restored for the next 24 to 48 hours. However, SMUD says 700 customers could have power restored by Wednesday morning.
Rosaura Gonzalez, director of social services with LifeSteps, said a Sacramento Housing and Redevelopment Agency (SHRA) Edgewater Senior Property lost power after the explosion. She said some of the impacted seniors are bed bound, unable to go down stairs and unable to go outside to get food.
9 other housing complexes impacted by the blackouts are being powered by generators. Officials have set up a fire watch for those buildings, and voluntary evacuations were put into place. One building was evacuated due to fire hazards and lack of power, according to Sacramento Fire Department.
In an afternoon update from Daniel Bowers, director of the Sacramento County Office of Emergency Management, he said the situation presents one of the biggest emergency situations in recent years.
Several 911 calls were made from 626 I Street at the Edgewater senior apartments as residents who rely on medical equipment began having their devices shut down due to the lack of power.
In response, about 100 people are expected to take shelter at City Hall. Bowers said the apartment building is equipped with a backup generator, but it failed. However, the evacuees aren't expected to stay at the shelter for long. Bowers said anyone impacted by outages can get a hotel voucher, so they can stay in a hotel as the power issue is addressed.
He said the SHRA is also helping get evacuees into hotels tonight as well.
“They’re here for a very short time," he said. "I had the chance to watch a couple busloads of folks come in and they’re not here very long.”
Bowers added that anyone impacted who needs to stay at the shelter will be able to do so. In the event that City Hall fills up, other sites could also be opened.
"I will say that we are prepared for this and as the mayor said, anybody affected by this power outage who needs a warm safe place to stay tonight, can do so here," Bowers said.
Officials are partnering with SacRT to bus people to City Hall and any other shelters that might be set up. The American Red Cross is providing sheltering expertise, cots and blankets at City Hall as well.
While the cause of the explosion in still under investigation, Fire Chief Gary Loesch said the fire appears to be nothing more than a transformer malfunction.
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