UC-Berkeley Explosion Linked to Electrical Copper Theft

Byuclafaculty

The UC-Berkeley student newspaper carries a story about last evenings explosion and fires on campus that led to an evacuation of the campus.

An explosion on the UC Berkeley campus near California Hall injured several people, prompting officials to declare a state of emergency and order an evacuation of the campus about 6:40 p.m. Monday evening. Three people were treated on scene for injuries, and one was transported to a hospital with minor burn injuries, according to campus spokesperson Dan Mogulof. At least 20 people were stuck in elevators as a result of an earlier power outage but were freed by 9 p.m., Mogulof said. The explosion appears to be related to vandalism discovered by the campus late last week, Mogulof said. 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 than initially believed. The explosion occurred as engineers were restoring power after a campuswide outage about 4:45 p.m., Mogulof said…

Full story at http://www.dailycal.org/2013/09/30/campus-wide-power-outage-disrupts-classes-early-monday-evening/

Various short videos are available from the YouTube website of the Daily Californian:
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hDl0OqRZ99o?feature=player_detailpage]

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