More than 5,600 Pacific Gas & Electric Company customers were without power late Sunday afternoon in the Orcutt area following a transformer fire. 

At approximately 3:55 p.m., personnel from the Santa Barbara County Fire Department responded to a transformer fire that spread to two small spots of vegetation near Highway 1 and Solomon Road, according to emergency dispatch reports.

The burning spots of vegetation were small, but firefighters were warned to look out for downed power lines while they worked in the area including on Song Lane and Appaloosa Trail.

At approximately the same time, a pair of large unplanned power outages affected customers — 5,100 in one area and 500-plus in  another area — throughout the Orcutt and Tanglewood communities. 

“Our team is evaluating the electrical system to identify damaged sections and make necessary repairs in order to safely turn the power back on,” PG&E said.

By 5:15 p.m., crews had restored power to most of the customers with more than 500 still affected by the outage.

The utility company initially estimated power would be restored by 11 p.m. Sunday.