UC Berkeley Officials Declare Emergency Following Explosion Around California Hall by The Daily Californian Lyrics
An explosion on the UC Berkeley campus near California Hall has injured a number of people, prompting officials to declare a state of emergency and order an evacuation of the campus around 6:40 p.m. Monday evening.
A few people were treated on scene for injuries and one was transported to a hospital with minor burn injuries, according to campus spokesperson Dan Mogulof. As of around 9 p.m., crews had freed 20 people stuck in elevators as a result of an earlier power outage, Mogulof said.
The explosion followed a campus-wide power outage, which began around 4:45 p.m., and came from an underground vault beneath a road by California Hall near the center of campus, said UCPD Sgt. Andrew Tucker. At least four ambulances, fire trucks and multiple police units responded to the incident.
An ammonia leak in Latimer Hall, likely related to the power failure, was contained by the Berkeley Fire Department by 6:20 p.m., according to UCPD Lt. Marc DeCoulode.
According to Mogulof, the explosion appears to be related to vandalism that was discovered by the campus late last week. Vandals were stealing or attempting to steal copper grounding wire from an electrical system not readily visible, and the damage appears to be more extensive the initially believed, he said.
The explosion appeared to come from a manhole grate, and campus police have advised students to stay away from any manholes on campus. Officials are not allowing anyone to enter the campus and have instructed everyone to evacuate through the north and west entrances.
“We’re worried there might be potentially other public safety hazards as a result of the power outage,” Tucker said. “The fact the power’s on now may trigger some other things.”
A few people were treated on scene for injuries and one was transported to a hospital with minor burn injuries, according to campus spokesperson Dan Mogulof. As of around 9 p.m., crews had freed 20 people stuck in elevators as a result of an earlier power outage, Mogulof said.
The explosion followed a campus-wide power outage, which began around 4:45 p.m., and came from an underground vault beneath a road by California Hall near the center of campus, said UCPD Sgt. Andrew Tucker. At least four ambulances, fire trucks and multiple police units responded to the incident.
An ammonia leak in Latimer Hall, likely related to the power failure, was contained by the Berkeley Fire Department by 6:20 p.m., according to UCPD Lt. Marc DeCoulode.
According to Mogulof, the explosion appears to be related to vandalism that was discovered by the campus late last week. Vandals were stealing or attempting to steal copper grounding wire from an electrical system not readily visible, and the damage appears to be more extensive the initially believed, he said.
The explosion appeared to come from a manhole grate, and campus police have advised students to stay away from any manholes on campus. Officials are not allowing anyone to enter the campus and have instructed everyone to evacuate through the north and west entrances.
“We’re worried there might be potentially other public safety hazards as a result of the power outage,” Tucker said. “The fact the power’s on now may trigger some other things.”