LAFAYETTE, Calif. (KRON) – Parts of Contra Costa County remain without power Monday night because of the dangerous winds and the threat of fire.
In sections of Lafayette, businesses and residents have had to make do without power — some since Sunday.
Now, they are going to have to wait even longer for the power to come back on.
It’s definitely frustrating for some people dealing with their power being shut off.
For some it’s more than just an inconvenience, it’s costly for their businesses that have already struggled because of the pandemic this year. For many, it’s just buckled down until this is over.
The loud vibration of generators can be heard in spots throughout Lafayette.
The juice is needed to help power up some of what’s been shut off by PG&E — The intentional outage causing headaches and confusion for residents.
“I miss my hot coffee in the morning, I had only hot water out of the tap,” one resident said.
“I’m not sure that I needed to lose power,” another said.
Not all but several businesses along stretches of Mount Diablo Boulevard were forced to close. Signs in the windows turning customers away.
Sonia Nawabi stocked up on ice to help chill some food at her gourmet burrito shop. Nawabi suspects without refrigeration, they’ll lose up to 70% of their supply.
“It’s becoming a headache for me to deal with this. It happened last year and we didn’t have power for, I think, almost four days,” Nawabi said.
Next door at Panache Caffe it’s the same story.
Traffic also had to make adjustments as street lights at some intersections were out. A few gas pumps were also not working.
Those who didn’t want to sit at home in the dark visited community resource centers.
It’s a good place to get a charge on your phone, computer, or tablets but not having power at home is a problem in a time of remote learning.
“It’s been rough, I think the worst thing is that I teach music lessons from home on Zoom now so I’ve had to cancel students,” a music teacher said.
Some are trying to look at the bright side of being disconnected.
“At least we get a little bit of time to sit back and read and be outside, I’m trying to just embrace that side of things,” the teacher said.