A tree fell across utility lines Saturday morning near the Page Youth Center, at 4540 Hollister Ave. between Santa Barbara and Goleta, badly damaging two power poles and knocking out electricity in the area. 
Hollister Avenue was closed in both directions between Auhay and Nogal drives near the Page Youth Center west of Santa Barbara. 
Emergency vehicles block the street in front of Santa Barbara County Fire Station 13 at 4570 Hollister Ave. Downed power lines in the next block to the east forced authorities to close the road. 
Apparent rot and woodpecker damage are visible near the top of a snapped power pole along Hollister Avenue.
Hollister Avenue was shut down Saturday between Santa Barbara and Goleta due to downed power lines across the roadway, according to the California Highway Patrol.
At about 8:30 a.m., CHP dispatchers received a report that a utility pole had snapped, shortly after a separate report of smoke seen coming from the top of the pole.
The incident was occurring in the area of the Page Youth Center, 4540 Hollister Ave., and Santa Barbara County Fire Station 13, 4570 Hollister Ave., east of San Marcos High School.
Hollister was closed in both directions from Auhay Drive to Nogal Drive, and there was no estimate of when it would be reopened.
Some 4,000 customers were reported to be without power, and Southern California Edison crews were being dispatched to the scene. By 2 p.m., according to Edison’s Outage Map, power had been restored to all but about 250 customers.
Additional details were not immediately available.
Check back with Noozhawk for updates to this story.
— Noozhawk executive editor Tom Bolton can be reached at tbolton@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.