Construction work that damaged a power line at the University of Colorado at Boulder resulted in an overloaded transformer today at the Engineering Center complex and power outages in 11 other buildings, primarily residence halls.
The aerospace engineering and electrical engineering departments in the Engineering Center were closed for the day. CU-Boulder emergency officials had restored power to all buildings except the two engineering departments and the north side of Willard Hall as of 2:30 p.m. No injuries were reported.
Baker, Farrand, and Libby Hall were temporarily evacuated. Aden, Brackett, Cockerell, Crosman, Reed, Cheyenne-Arapahoe, Willard and Hallett all experienced prolonged or temporary power failures. Each of the buildings is a CU residence hall, and Willard houses some CU administrative offices.
The aerospace engineering and electrical engineering departments in the Engineering Center were evacuated just before 9 a.m. after smoke was reported. CU Police and the Boulder Fire Department responded.
Boulder Fire also responded to fire alarms in the Libby and Baker residence halls due to smoke caused by overheated motors in elevator shafts, and a third fire alarm in Farrand Hall caused by a buildup of steam in the dining room kitchen. All three incidents were the result of the power problems, CU-Boulder officials said.
Two dining halls in Libby and Farrand were closed for lunch due to the power outage. Housing and Dining Services staff notified students and visitors residing in the affected halls of the closures and where they could obtain meals.
Meals were served in the Kittredge and Darley dining halls and at a special barbecue lunch was offered today in the lawn area between Farrand and Crosman halls. CU-Boulder housing officials said there also would be a backup plan for the evening meal.
About 250 summer school students and 550 visitors attending conferences on campus were affected by the closures, CU-Boulder officials said.
The problems began when construction work hit a power line in the Leeds School of Business of July 16. When workers attempted to make repairs to the line today, a power surge occurred that caused a small transformer fire in the engineering complex and power outages in the 11 other buildings.
People have been assigned to do fire watches and security monitoring at all affected residence halls, said Deb Coffin, executive director of the Housing & Dining Services Department.
In addition to CU Police and Boulder Fire, about two dozen Facilities Operations employees were working to address today's problems throughout the afternoon.
"We are actively assessing the damage and doing what we can to get all of the buildings back online as quickly as possible," said John Morris, director of Facilities Operations.
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