Lights out as San Fran plunged into darkness

Thousands of customers remained without power in San Francisco following a massive blackout that disrupted traffic, shut down transit stations and, at its height, left a third of the city without electricity on one of the busiest days of the holiday season.

The power blackout started just before 6pm on Saturday when a fire erupted at a major Pacific Gas & Electric substation that feeds smaller neighbourhood sub-stations.