Semi-Truck Damage Triggers San Jose Power Shutdown

San Jose firefighters and PG&E shut off power to thousands of customers near South First Street and East Alma Avenue on Thursday after a damaged semi-truck risked striking a nearby power pole, according to the San Jose Fire Department and NBC Bay Area. Fire crews were called at 9:25 a.m. to a truck with a damaged axle that was at risk of rolling over, officials said. The truck was carrying an estimated 78,000 pounds of scrap metal. PG&E said the precautionary shutdown could affect about 7,000 to 8,000 customers, and officials expected the outage to last at least three hours. ### Where was the truck and why did crews cut power? South First Street and East Alma Avenue was the center of the response after the semi came to rest in a position that could damage a utility pole, the San Jose Fire Department said. NBC Bay Area reported firefighters said the truck's damaged axle left it at risk of rolling over. (nbcbayarea.com) PG&E planned to shut down the lines in the area as a precaution rather than wait for the truck to shift into the pole, according to fire officials cited by NBC Bay Area and ABC7 News. The outage was not described as a wildfire-related Public Safety Power Shutoff; PG&E's seven-day PSPS forecast for May 21 showed no PSPS planned. ### How many people were expected to lose power? (nbcbayarea.com) PG&E's planned shutdown was expected to affect between 7,000 and 8,000 customers, according to the San Jose Fire Department post quoted by NBC Bay Area and ABC7 News. NBC Bay Area said the outage was expected to last at least three hours. PG&E's public outage center said customers can check restoration status by address or on the utility's outage map. (nbcbayarea.com) The company says the outage map is updated automatically every 15 minutes. ### What else was affected on the ground? A Sacred Heart Community Service building next to the incident was evacuated as a precaution, NBC Bay Area reported. Traffic was disrupted around the scene, and officials urged drivers to use alternate routes. (nbcbayarea.com) The San Jose Fire Department said it was operating in unified command with the San Jose Police Department, PG&E and the city's Department of Transportation. (pge.com) ABC7 News reported multiple roads south of downtown were closed while crews worked around the truck and the power infrastructure. ### What do officials know about the truck? The San Jose Fire Department said the truck had a damaged axle. (nbcbayarea.com) NBC Bay Area reported the vehicle was carrying an estimated 78,000 pounds of scrap metal, a load that added to concerns about the truck's stability if it shifted. ABC7 News described the vehicle as a tilted semi-truck, while other local reports described it as a scrap-metal truck. (nbcbayarea.com) Across the reports, the central fact was the same: the vehicle's condition created a rollover risk next to energized equipment. ### How can residents follow the next updates? (nbcbayarea.com) PG&E directs customers to its outage center and outage map for current planned and unplanned outage information. The utility also says customers who receive outage text alerts can reply "Status" to get updated information. As of early May 22, PG&E's general outage center showed 41 current outages systemwide and 737 customers affected across its territory, indicating the San Jose event had moved past its initial peak impact, though address-level status still needed to be checked locally through the outage map. (abc7news.com) That is an inference from PG&E's statewide dashboard and not a direct utility statement about this specific San Jose incident. (pge.com)