A transformer fuse blew out at PG&E's Olema substation Christmas Eve, blacking out homes and businesses around Tomales Bay for nearly six hours.

About 2,145 households and businesses in Olema, Point Reyes Station, Nicasio, Inverness, and Marshall, were affected by the power failure, said PG&E spokesman Bill Roake in San Francisco.

Another 9,465 Novato customers were without power for 20 minutes.

Roake said a fuse failed on a transformer linked to a 60,000-volt transmission line, which serves both Novato and parts of West Marin from the Olema substation.

The fuse blew at 2:22 p.m., and although power was restored within a half hour in Novato, West Marin's lines were dead until 8:02 p.m.

"I saw the fuse burning, and it sounded like a big roar," said Patrick Donlan, PG&E crew foreman at the Olema substation. "It was loud enough for people next door to hear."

PG&E troubleman Mark Chapman, who arrived on the scene about an hour after the substation shut down, told The Light, "It's not often that a transmission line fails. Usually, it's the 12,000-volt distribution lines that feed individual homes. A bird or a tree will cross the wires somehow and blow a fuse, cutting power to only a few homes."

Although PG&E has been claiming to have improved its customer-information service during blackouts, several PG&E customers in West Marin complained that calls to customer service and an emergency hotline resulted in technical glitches and misinformation.

A recording informed Lynn DeBarrows of Inverness Park that her address was nonexistent. She was later told the blackout resulted from a broken water main in Novato.

Spokesman Roake made apologies for the errors. He added that until a problem is isolated, phone centers rely on customer reports for information on outages. The holiday blackout was "unusual," he said, in that it took extra time to track the source all the way to the substation.

Most hard hit by the blackout were restaurants, grocery markets - and residents cooking their Christmas Eve dinners.

The lack of electricity was "a nightmare" for Olema Farmhouse manager Sue Brown, who said the restaurant had gone to considerable effort advertising and taking reservations for a Christmas Eve dinner.

"We lost $2,000 in sales," she said. "And besides that, it wasn't a happy day for the employees who came in to work."

Farmhouse owner Mike Nelson went directly to the power station to speak to the repair crew. "They were honest about it," Nelson said. "This kind of thing happens out here."

The Olema Inn, which expected to serve dinner to about 100 people, had to offer a reduced menu to some 50 guests. "All we could do was serve soup or salad and dessert," said Carson Bench, who was bussing tables Christmas Eve.

"We called people with reservations to suggest they cancel, but we had to use a pay phone because our phones were out." (Telephones connected to a switchboard need electricity to operate.)

While the power outage did not affect most restaurants that had planned to close early, staff had to scramble at two spots in Point Reyes Station. Cafe Reyes owner Robert Harvell said his chefs had to use flashlights to cook, and Station House Cafe manager Sheryl Cahill said computer problems troubled the dining room.

The Palace Market in Point Reyes Station estimated it lost 10 to 15 percent of its Christmas Eve business.

The grocery store was forced to cope with the loss of its price-scanning machines, noted general manager Dave Arcado, who said customers had to jot down prices for checkers to tally. Fortunately, he added, the Palace's freezers lost no stock.

Inverness Store owner Pam Irish said her store fired up its generator and went on with business as usual. "We stayed open, and everybody came in to buy batteries," she said. "The only hard part was trying to cook dinner."

But the espresso machine and deli-meat slicer were down at the Marshall Store. "I had to hand-slice the meat to make sandwiches," said owner Joyce Welch, who figured she'd lost about $225 worth of business. "We couldn't make coffee, and the beer was hot!"

Up the road a ways in Marshall, the Straus Organic Dairy was saved by a new generator. "We installed it about two months ago - just in time," said marketing director Michael Straus.

Blackouts are worrisome for dairy ranchers, he explained, "because we need power for the milking machines, for the milk-cooling system, and for pumping the sewage-holding ponds."

No severe trouble was reported by local innkeepers. Both Manka's in Inverness and the Point Reyes Seashore Lodge in Olema contented guests by lighting candles, lanterns, and fireplaces.

Many West Marin residents, however, were inconvenienced - especially cooks who were forced to shuffle their feasts.

Nicasio resident Mary Lafranchi was about to serve dinner to 21 guests when the power went out; she had to cook her turkey at the home of neighbor Grace Farley. Everyone ate by candlelight, she said, adding, "It was actually very nice."

The ham was put "on hold" at the home of Nicasio resident Jody Martin, who decided to take her family to dinner at an Italian bistro over the hill.

"My first reaction was, 'Aw shoot, this is happening again.' The power also went out here on Thanksgiving eve," Martin noted.

Indeed, about 50 PG&E customers from Novato west to Olema, Nicasio, and Inverness lost power at various times on Nov. 26, confirmed PG&E spokesman Roake.

Most of those blackouts were caused by blown fuses on 12,000-volt distribution lines serving households, Roake said.