Power restored for thousands in San Francisco after two hour blackout

A power outage was affecting roughly 7,500 customers in San Francisco the afternoon of Monday, May 19. A power outage was affecting roughly 7,500 customers in San Francisco the afternoon of Monday, May 19. Photo: Courtesy / Pacific Gas And Electric Co. Photo: Courtesy / Pacific Gas And Electric Co. Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close Power restored for thousands in San Francisco after two hour blackout 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

More than 7,500 Pacific Gas and Electric Co. customers in San Francisco were without power Monday afternoon for more than two hours after a metallic balloon floated up into some power lines, cutting the lights in parts of North Beach, Russian Hill, the Tenderloin and Chinatown, according to the utility.

The power went out around 3:50 p.m. after the ballon hit the lines near Filbert and Leavenworth streets, PG&E said on its website, and wasn’t expected to be fully restored until approximately 6:45 p.m.

A spokesman for the utility said that crews were on the scene working to get power restored as quickly as possible and crews had managed to get the power back on for about 6,100 customers by roughly 5:20 p.m. All remaining customers had their electricity restored by about 6:20 p.m.

Those who choose to celebrate birthdays, graduations or whatever other occasions with metallic balloons should make sure that they are properly weighted down so as to not knock out power for thousands of people, the spokesman said.

Kale Williams is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. E-mail: kwilliams@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @sfkale