Generators brought in to power key campus buildings

Temporary generators are set to begin humming at several key buildings on the UC Berkeley campus late Tuesday, as the campus works to get back to normal following Monday’s power outage.

A student studies as generators arrive to power up key buildings. (Yasmin Anwar photo)

One generator has been rented to power Dwinelle Hall, one of Berkeley’s busiest classroom buildings, where hundreds of students are scheduled to take mid-term exams this week. Dwinelle is expected to be back in business Wednesday; it was closed all day Tuesday as a result of the power outage.

Nearby, a generator should restore climate control for Doe Library and for the Bancroft Library, both of which also remained closed Tuesday. The Bancroft houses a vast collection that includes the ancient Egyptian Tebtunis Papyri, the Mark Twain Papers and materials that tell the story of the California Gold Rush.

Campus officials are also hoping to restore power soon to California Hall, the campus’s central administration building, and nearby Durant Hall, with the help of the temporary generators.

Eleven campus buildings in all were without power on Tuesday, and are being kept off the grid, as a safety precaution, while a contractor assesses damages from Monday’s incident. Most of the 11— Alumni House, the central heating plant, Dwinelle Annex, Edwards Track, Haas Pavilion and the Environmental Health and Safety Facility — have small generators capable of serving only basic power needs.

Campus officials continue to investigate the source of the outage and subsequent fire, which they believe originated with damage done during the theft of copper grounding wire from the university’s electrical system.