Burlingame restaurants are blaming Pacific Gas & Electric and the city for short-circuiting their typically busy Valentine’s Day, and at least one eatery plans to file a claim for its losses.

But the city claims Caltrain is at fault for the blackout and Caltrain says a city streetlight is to blame.

Restaurant managers said they lost thousands of dollars after PG&E had to cut power last Thursday to about 3,100 customers when a chain-link fence and tree at the Burlingame Caltrain Station somehow became electrified, shocking a man in the area. The fence surrounds a construction site where Caltrain is making improvements.

PG&E officials said they turned off the power as a safety precaution.

“Essentially what happened is, construction material near a streetlight circuit actually came into contact with the streetlight circuit,” PG&E spokesman Joe Molica said. “It looks like it was a stack of (steel) rebar.”

The rebar was stacked near the fence and the electricity traveled through it to the fence, Molica said. The man apparently was at a picnic table nearby and was shocked when he touched the fence, police said. He was treated at Mills-Peninsula Medical Center for injuries, including blisters on his hands, fire officials said. He was later released.

The power went out around 7:30 p.m., at the height of the Valentine’s Day dinner rush.

Straits Restaurant, across the street from the station at Burlingame Avenue and California Drive, was one of the hardest-hit eateries.

“It’s the busiest night of the year,” Straits general manager Jason Sanders said. “All of a sudden, the lights went out and it was kind of a nightmare.”

Last year, Straits made more than $10,000 on Valentine’s Day; this year it made $3,000. The restaurant apologized to about 130 patrons by offering them complimentary champagne.

Il Fornaio assistant general manager Stephanie Marcus estimated that her restaurant on Lorton Avenue lost $15,000. She said patrons returned in the following days to ask for free food because of what had happened.

Power was also cut to the Yaya Nomad Style Cuisine restaurant, a few doors down from Straits on Burlingame Avenue.

“We lost everything, from the computer system to the bathrooms,” said Yaya general manager Salim Dahud. “We were told someone threw himself in front of the train … It was kind of a messy situation.”

It was difficult to tell who had paid for their meal, and the restaurant didn’t want to overcharge diners, so some people got free meals, Dahud said. He did not have an estimate of how much money his business lost.

Diners flocked to other nearby eateries that did not lose power, such as Bonarda Restaurant & Bar on Burlingame Avenue.

“I couldn’t take everybody,” Bonarda owner Gino Kahrman said. People waited for up to 45 minutes and the staff had to work overtime.

Sanders blames PG&E because it cut power to so many customers. He said his restaurant will file a claim against the power company once it calculates its losses. “From everything I heard, it’s PG&E, and they didn’t shut (the power) off right,” he said.

Other restaurant managers indicated they felt their losses should be recovered as well.

“In an ideal world we would be compensated,” Marcus said. She said she blamesBurlingame because she believes a city streetlight sparked the problem.

Burlingame officials, however, said they have been telling people to file a claim against Caltrain.

“Caltrain has a contractor there doing the work, so from our standpoint they are the right point of contact,” City Manager Jim Nantell said.

The city is somewhat baffled about what happened because when it sent staff to theCaltrain site the next day, the rebar had been cleaned up, Nantell said. “When staff went out there to investigate, there was nothing to investigate. Nobody can demonstrate to us what really happened,” he said.

The incident caused three of the decorative streetlamps near the station to malfunction, and those have to be rewired, said Public Works Director Syed Murtuza.

Caltrain officials said they would investigate any claim against them but believe the problem was caused by construction material coming into contact with a city streetlight that shorted out.

“It seemed pretty clear to us that it was not a result of the work that we were doing,”Caltrain spokesman Jonah Weinberg said. “While clearly there was some rebar that carried the current, it was carried from a city lamppost. Obviously, we moved the materials that carried the current because we didn’t want to run the risk of something else happening, coming from that city lamppost.”

E-mail Mark Abramson at mabramson@dailynewsgroup.com.

Burlingame needs a band to lead centennial parade

Trees blamed for most of the damage

Mark Abramson; Daily News Staff Writer

Burlingame Daily News

July 21, 2007

The return of Burlingame’s sidewalk repair program after a three-year hiatus has angered residents who say it’s not fair that they have to foot the bill to fix the deteriorating sidewalks adjacent to their homes.

Residents living near sidewalks with tripping hazards or other dangers identified by the city received letters last month giving them 30 days to make repairs. Residents who do not comply will get another 30 days before the city hires a contractor to do the job. The costs will be tacked on to the property tax of any person who does not comply.

Millbrae and San Mateo also require residents to pay for sidewalk repairs, but San Mateo is considering an ordinance that would split the costs with property owners if the problem is caused by a city-owned tree.

Marika Metcalfe was one of the 358 Burlingame residents who received a letter from the city. She was also among the crowd of 60 people who attended a recent city council meeting to oppose the repair program.

“I think it is more complicated than simply saying residents have to pay for sidewalkrepairs,” Metcalfe said. “I think everyone understands that things are tight financially (for the city).”

Metcalfe, who lives in the 400 block of Occidental Avenue, said she thinks the issue is complicated because many of the sidewalk problems have been caused by city-owned trees. She sees little reason to fix the sidewalks if nothing is done about the trees.

“The trees continue to grow and that is a great concern,” she said. “Why should we pay for it over and over again?”

City officials said they would pay to trim the roots to prevent more damage.

Metcalfe’s letter from the city indicated that her family would have to pay to fix 233 square feet of sidewalk around her house on the corner of Chapin Avenue.

Sidewalks around her house are patched with asphalt to smooth out upward jutting slabs of concrete. According to the city, any sidewalk that has risen at least half an inch presents a tripping hazard.

“The biggest problems are caused on the streets with the oldest and biggest trees, and some of those trees we will not recommend planting again because all they do is crack sidewalks,” Mayor Terry Nagel said. “There is tension between the camp that values trees and the camp that does not want to pay for sidewalk repairs.”

Trees have caused virtually all of the sidewalk damage, she said. The city council will hold a study session on the matter sometime in August.

City officials say it is necessary for residents to bear the costs of sidewalk repairs because times are tough financially.

“The city has always paid for the sidewalk repairs, but in 2004 because of the continued downturn in the budget, the city had to adopt an existing state law (that can force residents to pay for the repairs),” said Syed Murtuza, Burlingame’s assistant public works director.

The repair program started in 2004, but until now, that was the only time that the city had the resources to identify damaged sidewalks, Murtuza said. The city wants to survey a section of town each year to determine what sidewalks need to be fixed, he added.

In 2004, residents paid an average of $360 to fix the sidewalks next to their homes, or an average of $10 to $12 per square foot, according to city officials. The city estimates that residents will pay $10 to $15 per square foot this year.

E-mail Mark Abramson at mabramson@dailynewsgroup.com.