2008 Woodie Awards
Exploding transformer cuts power Sunday
By: Matt Day and Amy Ledig, News Editors
Issue date: 3/7/08 Section: News
Students found their homework and other plans disrupted by a power outage Sunday night. At 6:35 p.m. lights across campus went out.
The outage was caused when a transformer along Snelling Avenue by the Macalester Athletic and Recreation Center caught fire and exploded. Power was restored by a team from Xcel Energy at 8:10 p.m., and students were allowed to return to the dorms around 8:20 p.m.
Director of Security Terry Gorman said that Xcel Energy told him the explosion was caused by increased amounts of salt in the air and that the conditions "got right for the transformer to arc, spark and blow up."
The Campus Center and the Library were the only buildings to remain open. Limited power was restored in the both buildings seconds after the outage as both buildings' backup generators began running.
Emergency lights illuminated the halls of the dorms and academic buildings, but Bigelow Hall Director Michael Klitzke said that an evacuation of the dorms was ordered because the lights' battery power would run out quickly.
Residential Assistants were informed of the situation before 7 p.m. and began passing the information along to residents to evacuate the residence halls and assemble in the Campus Center.
The library was closed during the evacuation of the dorms because of reports of smoke in the building.
"Someone said we had to leave because the lights were out on the first floor, but it [was] pretty obvious that all the lights were out," said Chris Portero Paff '11, one of the students who had to evacuate the library. He added that he had heard there was smoke but had not seen anything.
"We think it was just the generator kicking in," Gorman said. The library reopened when power to campus was restored. Gorman said that security closed down the library because they thought there was smoke, but that upon further examination, no evidence was found. He now thinks that it may have been caused by dampers in the library opening and releasing warm air that appeared to be smoke.
The outage was caused when a transformer along Snelling Avenue by the Macalester Athletic and Recreation Center caught fire and exploded. Power was restored by a team from Xcel Energy at 8:10 p.m., and students were allowed to return to the dorms around 8:20 p.m.
Director of Security Terry Gorman said that Xcel Energy told him the explosion was caused by increased amounts of salt in the air and that the conditions "got right for the transformer to arc, spark and blow up."
The Campus Center and the Library were the only buildings to remain open. Limited power was restored in the both buildings seconds after the outage as both buildings' backup generators began running.
Emergency lights illuminated the halls of the dorms and academic buildings, but Bigelow Hall Director Michael Klitzke said that an evacuation of the dorms was ordered because the lights' battery power would run out quickly.
Residential Assistants were informed of the situation before 7 p.m. and began passing the information along to residents to evacuate the residence halls and assemble in the Campus Center.
The library was closed during the evacuation of the dorms because of reports of smoke in the building.
"Someone said we had to leave because the lights were out on the first floor, but it [was] pretty obvious that all the lights were out," said Chris Portero Paff '11, one of the students who had to evacuate the library. He added that he had heard there was smoke but had not seen anything.
"We think it was just the generator kicking in," Gorman said. The library reopened when power to campus was restored. Gorman said that security closed down the library because they thought there was smoke, but that upon further examination, no evidence was found. He now thinks that it may have been caused by dampers in the library opening and releasing warm air that appeared to be smoke.
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