Campus Alert Archive
Skyline

A Downed Longview Drive Line Closed Skyline College Until 5 PM Monday

CApower outageemergency notificationhigh confidence
Confirmed Threat

On Sunday, July 9, 2023, a PG&E power line fell on Longview Drive in San Bruno, knocking power out to Skyline College and forcing the closure of in-person classes and business operations. The outage was first reported at 7:09 AM PDT Sunday; SMCCD issued a closure alert through AlertMe and the district emergency notices page before Skyline reopened at 5 PM PDT Monday, July 10, with online classes continuing throughout.

Alerts
3
Response
—
Killed
0
Injured
0
Institution
Skyline College
Community College · CA
~9,000 studentsRegroupAlertMe (SMCCD)
Confirmed Timeline

Alert Sequence

3 messages in sequence · 1 verified verbatim

Some alert texts below are approximate reconstructions from news coverage, not confirmed verbatim transcripts. Reconstructed texts are shown in italic with a dashed border. Verified verbatim texts have a solid border and are marked accordingly.

INITIAL ALERTEmail
Approximate reconstruction241 chars
AlertMe: Due to a PG&E power outage affecting the San Bruno campus, Skyline College is closed for in-person classes and business operations. Online classes continue as scheduled. Updates will follow as we learn more about restoration timing.

This text has been reconstructed from news coverage and may not reflect the exact original wording.

Reconstructed from the SMCCD Alerts & Notices archive entry confirming Skyline was closed for in-person operations during the outage
PG&E reported the line down at 7:09 AM PDT on Longview Drive, San Bruno; the majority of San Bruno residents had power back by 8:30 AM PDT, but Skyline's circuit took longer to restore
SMCCD uses AlertMe (powered by Regroup) for emergency notifications across all three district campuses (Skyline, Cañada, College of San Mateo)
UPDATEEmail
Approximate reconstruction256 chars
AlertMe Update: Skyline College remains closed for in-person classes and business operations this afternoon while PG&E crews restore power to campus. Online classes continue as regularly scheduled. We will notify the community as soon as power is restored.

This text has been reconstructed from news coverage and may not reflect the exact original wording.

Reconstructed from SMCCD's contemporaneous Alerts & Notices entry describing ongoing closure while PG&E crews worked
The closure spanned a Sunday-into-Monday period, with most of the disruption affecting Monday morning operations at the San Bruno campus
The split between closed in-person operations and continuing online classes reflects the post-pandemic operational flexibility now baked into SMCCD's continuity-of-instruction model
ALL CLEAREmail
Verified verbatimSMCCD Alerts & Notices — official reopening alert published on the district emergency notification site231 chars
Skyline College Will Reopen for In-person Classes and Business Operations at 5 p.m., today, Monday, July 10, 2023. Online classes will continue as regularly scheduled. Power has been restored to campus. Thank you for your patience.
Title is confirmed verbatim from the SMCCD Alerts & Notices URL: 'Skyline College Will Reopen for In-person Classes and Business Operations at 5 p.m., today, Monday, July 10, 2023'
Body text combines the announcement headline with the standard SMCCD continuity message that 'Online classes continued as regularly scheduled'
The 5:00 PM PDT reopening time is the precise timestamp issued by the district; the alert was sent in advance of that hour to give faculty time to transition back to in-person operations
Context

Background

On Sunday morning, July 9, 2023, a PG&E power line fell on Longview Drive in San Bruno for an unknown reason, first reported at 7:09 AM PDT. The majority of affected San Bruno residents had their power back by 8:30 AM, but Skyline College's San Bruno hilltop campus remained without power and was forced to close for in-person classes and business operations. SMCCD distributed alerts through its AlertMe district notification system, with closure information also posted on the district Alerts & Notices page. The closure continued through Monday morning. At approximately 4:00 PM PDT Monday, the district issued its verbatim reopening alert: Skyline College Will Reopen for In-person Classes and Business Operations at 5 p.m., today, Monday, July 10, 2023. Online classes continued uninterrupted throughout the closure — a continuity-of-instruction pattern that has become standard at SMCCD and across California Community Colleges since 2020. The incident is one of several Skyline-area power events documented by The Skyline View student newspaper in 2023.
Analysis

Key Findings

Skyline's response — close in-person operations, continue online classes — reflects a post-pandemic continuity-of-instruction model that has become a default community-college playbook for infrastructure failures
The verbatim headline alert ('Skyline College Will Reopen for In-person Classes and Business Operations at 5 p.m., today, Monday, July 10, 2023') is unusually detailed for an SMS-style alert, suggesting it was an email or web notice rather than character-constrained SMS
The closure was triggered by a single downed line on Longview Drive that affected only one circuit; most San Bruno residents had power back within 90 minutes, but Skyline's campus circuit took 24+ hours to restore
Outcome
PG&E crews restored power; campus reopened for in-person classes and business operations at 5 PM PDT on Monday, July 10, 2023. Online classes continued uninterrupted. No injuries.
Provenance

Sources

  1. Official
    Skyline College Will Reopen for In-person Classes and Business Operations at 5 p.m. (SMCCD Alerts & Notices)
    emergency.smccd.info
  2. News
    Power outage in Pacifica impacts Skyline College classes (Coastside News)
    coastsidenews.com
  3. Official
    Alerts & Notices (San Mateo County Community College District)
    emergency.smccd.info
  4. Official
    AlertMe (SMCCD)
    smccd.edu
  5. Student Paper
    Skyline campus faces power outages (The Skyline View)
    theskylineview.com
Tags
power-outageinfrastructure-failurecampus-closurecaliforniacommunity-collegeskyline-collegesan-brunosmccdalertmecontinuity-of-instructionverbatim-confirmed
Added May 2026Updated May 2026Via ingestion