UPDATE 7:33 p.m. (AP) - Authorities are trying to prevent an oil spill from a barge that sank in San Francisco Bay during a storm that also knocked out power to thousands and threatened homes in Oakland.
The 112-foot freight barge carried a crane. It went down shortly before 12:30 a.m. Friday south of the Bay Bridge.
Authorities say 40-mph winds from the storm capsized it.
The barge carried more than 4,000 gallons of fuel and oil. Crews have boomed off the area and the owner plans to have salvage divers raise the barge.
The storm that hit Thursday also caused a landslide in the Oakland hills, and six homes were evacuated. It knocked out power to about 40,000 customers in the Bay Area but the electricity has been restored.
Showers and even thunderstorms remain likely through Saturday in the Bay Area and northward.
At Rocky Butte near San Simeon in San Luis Obispo County, nearly 5 inches of rain fell in a 24-hour period.
Original Post: (AP) - U.S. Coast Guard responders are monitoring a sunken freight barge that is leaking diesel fuel and hydraulic oil into the San Francisco Bay.
Authorities say they are preparing to clean a maximum of 4,000 gallons of diesel fuel and 300 gallons of lube oil.
The 112-foot barge is under contract with Bay Area Rapid Transit to provide anti-corrosion protection to the Transbay Tube, which is an underwater rail tunnel that carries BART's commuter lines between San Francisco and Oakland, California.
BART authorities say no crews were working on the barge at the time. BART engineers say the tube is not damaged. There are no reports of damage to wildlife.
The Coast Guard reported the sunken barge shortly after midnight Friday.
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