Keith Weghorst, who works at the University Library’s main desk, routinely tells students working in the main floor computer lab to save their work. While working on his senior thesis at 3:20 p.m. Wednesday, Weghorst himself wished he’d saved.
The Weinberg senior’s computer suddenly blacked out. So did every other computer in the lab as areas across campus and in Evanston lost electricity Wednesday afternoon.
The power went out at more than 860 addresses in the Evanston/Northwestern area at 3:15 p.m, said Robin Taylor-Turner, a spokeswoman for ComEd electricity supplier. The outage started when two power lines in a complicated circuit couldn’t carry the electric current from the main source.
By 5:04 p.m., power was restored to every ComEd customer, except for part of the Evanston Civic Center, 2100 Ridge Ave., she said. She said ComEd is still investigating why the power lines went out.
“I lost about four pages out of about 28,” Weghorst said from the library. “It was getting toward the end and I know what I need to write – I just should have known better.”
The main-floor computer bank was full when the power went out, Weghorst said. As the bright lights went dark, the mood stayed calm. Students just “quietly got up and left.”
Campus buildings that lost electricity included Norris University Center, University Library, Pick-Staiger Concert Hall, Regenstein Hall of Music, Block Museum of Art, 2020 Ridge Ave., the Theater and Interpretation Center and the Allen Center, according to University Police. Off-campus apartments and houses also lost electricity, including buildings on Clark Street, Library Place, Simpson Street and Foster Street.
The outage caused a car to hit a traffic light that was out at the intersection of Sheridan Road and Foster Street at 4 p.m. A red minivan northbound on Sheridan was going too fast at the intersection, City of Evanston traffic electrician Dave Evans said. The driver swerved out of the way to avoid colliding with the car in front of him, which had stopped at the failed light.
“For some reason, he felt like he didn’t have to stop,” Evans said.
The light was completely flattened and will take a few weeks to fix, he said.
“You wouldn’t believe when the lights go out how many people go flying through (the intersection) at 50 miles an hour,” Evans said.
After the lights went out on the main floor of Norris University Center, about 30 students continued to work on laptops and in groups around the couches and tables in the main study area. University officials were planning to keep Norris open as long as there was natural light, said Rick Thomas, director of Norris. If the outage had persisted past dark, all students and staff would have been evacuated, he said.
On the third floor of Norris, most student group offices shut down after the power was out for ten minutes. Some groups continued business as usual. With Dance Marathon coming up in nine days and three hours, six members of DM’s executive board were working from laptops and cell phones in their office around 4 p.m.
“As long as this doesn’t happen in ten days, we’re happy,” said Ben Woo, co-chairman of Dance Marathon.
In Norris’ Louis Room, the first McCormick Tech Expo proceeded with the help of natural light. Students in dress suits and ties continued to talk to potential employers despite the lack of electricity, said Tayne Harrison , associate director of the Cooperative Engineering Education Program.
“The employers are going with the flow and the students are as well,” she said.
ComEd serves about 3.7 million customers in Northern Illinois, said Judy Rader, ComEd spokeswoman. This outage wasn’t unusually large, she said.
“An outage of 900 customers isn’t that bad,” Rader said.