Previously: “Smoldering” Underground Cable Causes Stir At City Hall
10:11 PM (BCN): Polk Street in front of San Francisco City Hall has reopened tonight following an investigation into smoke that crept up through manholes in the area, a Pacific Gas and Electric Co. spokesman said.
Fire crews were called to the intersection of Polk and McAllister streets at about 2:35 p.m. on reports of an underground fire, a fire dispatcher said.
PG&E crews also responded to the scene and Polk Street was closed between Grove and McAllister streets. The air smelled slightly of burned plastic but no smoke was visible.
A hot dog vendor in Civic Center Plaza said he saw smoke coming from a manhole earlier in the afternoon but didn’t hear any explosion.
Pacific Gas and Electric Co. spokesman David Eisenhauer said PG&E waited for the fire department to deem the situation safe before sending investigators underground.
Crews managed to isolate a faulty cable that produced the smoke in an underground vault, Eisenhauer said.
The incident did not affect any PG&E customers, Eisenhauer said, and Polk Street in front of City Hall partially reopened at 8:30 p.m. and has since been completely reopened.
PG&E crews will return to the area at a later date to remove the damaged cable and continue an investigation into the incident. Eisenhauer said investigators will work to determine whether there is any connection between this afternoon’s incident and a large vault explosion in June in the area of Polk and O’Farrell streets.
6:39 PM (AlertSF): Due to an undergound fire on Polk Street between Grove and McAllister, PG&E may need to cut power in the Civic Center area. Traffic has been affected by this street closure.
4:34 PM (BCN): One block of Polk Street in front of San Francisco City Hall is closed this afternoon due to reports of an underground fire.
Fire crews were called to the intersection of Polk and McAllister streets at about 2:35 p.m., a fire dispatcher said.
At about 4 p.m., Pacific Gas and Electric Co. crews were also at the scene and Polk Street was closed between Grove and McAllister streets. The air smelled slightly of burned plastic but no smoke was visible.
A hot dog vendor in Civic Center Plaza said he saw smoke coming from a manhole earlier in the afternoon but didn’t hear any explosion.
Pacific Gas and Electric Co. spokesman David Eisenhauer said PG&E is waiting for the fire department to deem the situation safe before sending investigators underground to determine the cause of the fire.
The fire had not caused any outages as of about 4:10 p.m., but Eisenhauer said crews might have to turn off some circuits during the investigation, which may affect certain customers.
PG&E will investigate whether there is any connection between this afternoon’s incident and a vault explosion in June in the area of Polk and O’Farrell streets, Eisenhauer said.
3:54 PM (BCN): San Francisco firefighters are responding to reports of an underground fire in the area of Polk and McAllister streets.
The fire was reported at about 2:35 p.m., according to a dispatcher, who said streets are closed in the area.
