Power has been restored to most of the University of California Berkeley after a massive explosion left one person hospitalized for minor burns and forced a campus-wide evacuation Monday night.
An emergency bulletin posted on the UC Berkeley website said the power outrage and explosion were due to a power system failure. The explosion occurred around 6:30 p.m., according to the San Jose Mercury News. Firefighters were called to respond to smoke from a malfunctioning generator at 4 p.m. It was reported to be around the same time the campus lost power.
The blast and fire left four people with minor injuries. One person was taken to a hospital with non-life threatening injuries, UC Berkeley spokesman Dan Mogulof said.
According to FOX News, the university asked all students, faculty and staff to leave the main campus. Crews worked to rescue at least 20 people reportedly stuck in elevators due to the loss of power.
Around 8:30 p.m., UC Berkeley tweeted that the fire was extinguished.
@dailycal @SaraGrossman pic.twitter.com/suKkhYgcXI
— Alice Oh (@missonederland) October 1, 2013
Mogulof told the Associated Press the explosion could be the result of attempted underground copper wire theft on campus last week.
"We have a strong suspicion that what happened is related to vandalism discovered last week," Mogulof told reporters, according to the LA Times. "The damage they caused may have been far more extensive than we originally thought."
Fox New reported that 11 buildings remained without power. It was unclear Monday night whether classes would resume Tuesday morning. Mogulof said classes are not going to happen and people would not be able to return to campus until safe can be ensured.
Video footage and photos on Twitter showed dark clouds of smoke visible from Sproul Plaza and what appeared to be a small fire burning in the background.
