A student-operated publication at Santa Rosa Junior College.

The Oak Leaf

A student-operated publication at Santa Rosa Junior College.

The Oak Leaf

A student-operated publication at Santa Rosa Junior College.

The Oak Leaf

Power outage closes Santa Rosa campus

Dakota McGranahan
Students congregated in Haehl Pavilion during the blackout.

Haehl Pavilion gymnasium was evacuated Wednesday night at approximately 6:20 p.m. when a transformer explosion caused a college-wide power outage at Santa Rosa Junior College’s Santa Rosa campus.  

SRJC District Police Officer Brandon Fleetwood said 60 mph winds and heavy rain from a Bay Area storm caused the transformer’s failure.

Josh Adams, dean of business and professional studies, witnessed the explosion.

“We saw the field light up and thought it was lightning,” Adams said. “The power went out with the first flash. The second flash finished the job.”

The Harlem Globetrotters were performing their Fan Powered World Tour in Haehl Pavilion when the power cut out. Students and community members were lined up for the event when authorities called it off.

Kirstie Anderson, 41, was parking when the coordinators of the event told her it was cancelled; the event was rescheduled for 7 p.m. Feb. 20.

“My husband and I walked up [to Haehl Pavilion] anyways just to see if the power would come back on, but people were just leaving,” Anderson said.

The Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office extended a county-wide flood warning until 8:15 p.m. due to “very heavy rainfall.”

SRJC District Police have provided no further information.

Dakota McGranahan
Sonoma County received 10 inches of rain after a county-wide storm caused a power outage at SRJC Santa Rosa campus.
Leave a Comment
About the Contributor
Dakota McGranahan, Co-Features Editor
Dakota McGranahan is the Co-Features editor this Fall 2019 semester at the Oak Leaf.

Comments (0)

All Reader Picks Sort: Newest

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *