UC Berkeley cancels classes for 2nd day because of power outage
Thursday classes have been canceled because of an on-campus power outage, according to a UCPD campuswide email sent about 12:40 a.m.
PG&E began shutting down power in Alameda County about 11 p.m. Wednesday night, according to a tweet from the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office, in accordance with its Public Safety Power Shutoff.
According to the PG&E power outage map at press time, multiple areas in North Berkeley and the Berkeley Hills are experiencing an outage. PG&E announced Monday in a press release that it was considering cutting power to numerous counties in Northern California, including Alameda County, as the National Weather Service issued a Fire Weather Watch from Wednesday morning through Thursday afternoon.
“During the power outage, many campus areas and buildings may be dark, which could make navigating the campus more difficult and raise personal safety concerns,” according to the campuswide email. “For that reason, we encourage members of the campus community to not make unnecessary trips to campus during the power outage.”
According to the message, the campus will not be closed, although services will be limited. Parking areas that are below ground will be closed. The email recommended avoiding elevators and also discouraged staff members with mobility concerns from going to work on campus. All employees are encouraged to stay home “unless they are critical employees.”
Multiple videos of students cheering have been posted to the “Overheard at UC Berkeley” Facebook page.
Prior to this message, campus officials announced that Thursday classes would be held contingent on the possible outage. Classes on Wednesday were canceled in anticipation of an outage.
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Sakura Cannestra is the managing editor. Contact her at managing@dailycal.org and follow her on Twitter at @SakuCannestra.