Lights out for several schools in Fresno after overnight rain caused outages

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- It was lights out for several schools in Fresno today after overnight rain caused outages throughout the city.

Fresno Unified made sure students were able to power through the day. Wet weather in the Valley put a damper on the school day as hundreds of Fresno Unified students went to schools without power.

According to Fresno Fire, they received 10 early morning power related calls to service, including a downed power line in the area of Tyler and Augusta in front of Webster Elementary.

Crews were able to get a quick handle on it, but Webster, J.E. Young and Susan B Anthony spent a majority of the day without power.

"We're pretty lucky that the weather was mild and we're able to keep kids inside and comfortable it wasn't too hot outside. Teachers also opened their blinds so they were able to let in a lot of natural light so students were able to see inside the classrooms," said Jessica Baird.

Some teachers at Anthony called it a welcome reminder of the past, saying it was actually nice to not rely on technology. However, they were unable to use their smart boards, projection system and laptops to aid in the lesson plan.

This is one of seven schools without power, something PG&E says is not uncommon for the first rain of the year. Accumulated ash and dirt can turn to mud and be problematic when it comes to a light rain that does not wash it away.

"Four of the schools got their power back pretty fast. One of them they only had an outage for 30 minutes," said Baird.

Generators were sent to the campuses affected.

"We're also bringing portable lanterns and flashlights in case there aren't any windows in the bathroom we want to make sure we're hitting every part of the campus."

Nutrition services made it so students could enjoy breakfast and lunch.

"We've been communicating with parents by phone--that we're working with PG&E to resolve the issue and well update them when power is restored," said Baird.