FAIRFAX TOWN COUNCIL MEETING
STAFF REPORT
MEETING DATE September 2, 2026
PREPARED FOR Mayor and Town Council
PREPARED BY Heather Abrams, Town Manager
SUBJECT Receive a presentation from Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) on the August 15, 2026 underground vault fire and power outage at Broadway and Bolinas Road
RECOMMENDATION
Receive the presentation and ask questions of the PG&E representative, Mark van Gorder. This is an informational item; no formal action is required.
BACKGROUND
On August 15, 2026, at approximately 11:40 a.m., an outage occurred on PG&E’s San Rafael 1108 12kV underground distribution circuit, affecting 1,547 customers. The outage was caused by a fire in an underground electrical vault at 25 Broadway, near the intersection of Broadway and Bolinas Road in Fairfax. The area is designated a Tier 3 High Fire Threat District (HFTD) by the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), the highest of the state’s wildfire risk tiers.
Ross Valley Fire Department responded, observed fire coming from the vault, and isolated the area to protect the public. The fire produced a significant amount of smoke. A PG&E troubleshooter was already enroute for the outage when the event escalated to a 911 response; upon arrival, the troubleshooter deenergized the vault so fire personnel could safely suppress the fire. After the fire was extinguished, PG&E identified the cause as the catastrophic failure of underground transformer 4066.
All customers were restored on August 16, 2026, at approximately 4:05 a.m.
PG&E has reported the event to the CPUC as Electric Incident EI260815A under the injury reporting criterion. PG&E has advised that this information is preliminary and subject to change as its review continues.
DISCUSSION
Because the incident occurred in a Tier 3 High Fire Threat District, involved a fire and an injury, and left some customers without power overnight, staff invited PG&E to brief the Town Council and the community directly.
PG&E representatives will provide a presentation on the following:
● A timeline of the August 15–16 incident and the emergency response; ● PG&E’s preliminary findings regarding the failure of underground transformer 4066; ● The status of the CPUC incident report and any follow-up investigation;
● Inspection, maintenance, and equipment replacement practices for underground vaults in Fairfax; and
● Community Wildfire Safety Program work planned in and around Fairfax.
Staff notes that PG&E’s findings remain preliminary, and that some questions, particularly regarding root cause and any corrective actions, may not be fully answerable at this meeting. Staff will follow up with PG&E on any Council questions that cannot be addressed during the presentation and will report back.
FISCAL IMPACT
None. Receiving the presentation has no fiscal impact.
ATTACHMENTS
None.