SONOMA (KRON) — It was a slow day at Downtown Sonoma Square.
The sidewalks missing the slue of tourists and there are plenty of parking spaces.
So many businesses were closed during PG&E’s power shutdowns.
“Right now it is ghost town,” said Sonoma resident Paul Rice.
At the only open gas station at highways 12 and 121, people waited in line to fill up.
Most were filling extra tanks to supply generators at home like one pumping an exoctic and expensive fish collection.
“I have to keep my fish alive,” he said. “Without electricity they are going to die.”
Finding a generator was a drive hundreds of miles away for his business partner.
“[They were] sold out all around the Bay Area and I think he scrambled to get to Reno to get the last one there,” said David Niles with Wingo Motorcycle and Cafe.
The 76 stations operating on the generator purchased after the Wine Country fires.
As the blackout rolls on, people are powering through.
“There is a lot of patience and a lot of anger,” said Sgt. Juan Valencia with the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office.
The sheriff’s office has also increased patrols and deputies are out looking for looters — which has not happened.
“I believe it does have to do with extra patrol and people being more vigilant with their surroundings,” Valencia said.
A silent receipt machine shows how the power shutdown hurt one store’s bottom line.
“Business has been off but better than fires right?” said business owner Stephen Havlick.
Just before 5 p.m. Thursday night, the power flicked back on inside “Sign of the Bear” store.
It was a sign, the worst of the PG&E outage is over
“It came back on, so we are not dead, not dead yet,” Havlick said.