Around four o’clock Tuesday afternoon, the U of A lost power on campus. Classes were cancelled which caused heavy traffic. Students tweeted about issues trying to leave Harmon Parking Garage, but the problems were quickly resolved.
Buses were unable to keep up with the schedule not only because of the traffic but also the bus gates. From the power outage, the gates were unable to open. The brown bus was out of service while the yellow and green drove slower routes.
Some students were riding elevators during the outage. It has been confirmed that Reed Hall had firefighters help get students out of elevators and it is expected that other residence halls had the same problems.
Dorms such as Humphrey’s and Founder’s Hall both had main doors forced to unlock because of the blackout. The residents are given fobs to enter the facility, but because of the power going out, the lock system went down. Students from Founder’s Hall say they felt safe even though the doors were unlocked.
Most classes were cancelled by professors before RazAlert sent a notification to faculty and staff. Other teachers moved their classes outside to the Chi Omega Greek Theater for some light. One students reported taking a test during the blackout. He says the students had to finish their exams by flashlight.
The power was out for about three hours. The source of the outage was behind Kappa Sigma Fraternity House. UAPD Gary Crain says that a squirrel getting caught in a power box is the reason for the blackout.