Anyone wishing to enter or exit City Hall by the Polk Street steps after 2:30 p.m. Monday afternoon found themselves flummoxed, blocked by emergency response vehicles and utility workers. The San Francisco Fire Department responded to reports of an underground electrical fire on Polk Street at McAllister Street around 2:37 p.m., the cause being a “smoldering” Muni metro underground power cable, according to Fire Department spokeswoman Lt. Mindy Talmadge.
No PG&E customers lost power during the incident, Talmadge said.
No flames were reported, but sheriff’s deputies, who cordoned off the area with help from SFPD and DPT, said they saw wisps of smoke. As of 3 p.m. no smoke could be seen by this reporter. The area is still blocked off at the time of this posting.
(We did see the mayoral SUV parked outside during the first hour; it, though, was able to leave the cordoned-off area without incident. It’s good to be the king).
Underground fires caused by faulty wiring are not a new phenomenon, though today’s occurrence had none of the drama of the Tenderloin PG&E fire.
Though it was a Muni cable that was reported to be at fault, no Muni delays were reported, Muni spokesman Judson True said.
PG&E was contacted for comment. We’ll post back when we hear from them.
