Weekend Power Outage Interrupts UCSD Plays

A blown transformer at Revelle’s Mayer Hall cut off the electrical supply to several areas of the UCSD campus Sunday afternoon.

The power outage occurred just before 4 p.m. and affected a few buildings in Revelle College. Students were largely unaffected by the power outage since most went home for the Thanksgiving weekend, but performances at the La Jolla Playhouse were disturbed by the darkness.

Two simultaneous incidents caused the outage.

First, a transformer at RIMAC caught fire, forcing the fire department to close RIMAC for the day. Physical Plant Services rerouted electricity through another substation, restoring power and allowing the gym to reopen Monday.

The second incident occurred at Mayer Hall when a 12 KVR electrical switch exploded. This incident was thought to be responsible for knocking out power from Galbraith Hall to Scripps Institution of Oceanograghy, as well as the La Jolla Playhouse. The fire department investigated, but after a careful investigation they concluded that the explosion was not a fire hazard.

By 3:30 p.m. Monday, Physical Plant Services had replaced the broken electrical switch in Mayer Hall and power was restored to Revelle College.

The electrical problems at RIMAC and Mayer Hall were believed to be unrelated, despite having occurred at roughly the same time.

Theater-goers enjoying a performance of “”Thoroughly Modern Millie”” at the La Jolla Playhouse were in the last 10 minutes of the play when all the lights abruptly went out, causing a premature end to the play.

Not only did the outage prevent actors from completing the afternoon performance, but it also led to the cancellation of the 7 p.m. show since the power was still out.

Most of the audience members were understanding of the problem, and many were more concerned about the ending of the play. The most curious even asked at the box office to find out how the final scene would have turned out.

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