Woman scales electrical tower in south Sacramento, backing up traffic on Mack Road, Highway 99

Traffic was backed up in south Sacramento after a woman scaled an electrical transmission tower Monday morning along Highway 99 and Mack Road.

Crews got the woman down safely around 1 p.m. The Sacramento Fire Department was able to reach her with the help of PG&E bucket trucks, according to the fire department on Twitter.

She was transported to the hospital for an evaluation, according to the department.

The fire department was dispatched to 110-kilovolt tower just before 9 a.m. The activity caused traffic to back up on Mack Road, Elise Avenue and northbound Highway 99.

At 9:26 a.m. the Sacramento Police Department asked PG&E to turn off the electric line for the safety of the woman and first responders, and there were no power outages.

A SMUD representative was the first to tell PG&E that someone had climbed the transmission tower, PG&E spokeswoman Megan McFarland said in an email.

In Stockton early Monday morning, a woman — later identified as Elizabeth Rodriguez, 51 — was arrested for assaulting an officer after climbing an electrical tower and shutting down power for 17,672 PG&E customers, McFarland said. The outage lasted about three hours.

“Officers are still trying to understand why she climbed up there in the first place,” said Officer Joe Silva, a spokesman for the Stockton Police Department.

This story was originally published August 29, 2022 at 12:54 PM.