North County was a bit darker Saturday afternoon when an electrical transmission station caught fire and blacked out the area between Santa Ynez and Lompoc.
A Pacific Gas & Electric transmission station south of Nipomo caught fire at 3:15 p.m., which caused a regulator to fail. The blackout affected approximately 34,350 customers in Orcutt, Sisquoc, Buellton, Santa Ynez and Santa Maria.
Power was restored to Santa Maria, Orcutt and Sisquoc by 4:08 p.m. and to Los Alamos, Los Olivos, Solvang, Buellton and the surrounding rural areas by 4:30 p.m.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation.
