Campus Alert Archive
UC Berkeley

Underground Electrical Vault Detonates Two Stories High by California Hall, Copper-Theft Chain Reaction Empties UC Berkeley

CAinfrastructure failureemergency notificationmedium confidence
Confirmed Threat

On September 30, 2013, an underground electrical vault near California Hall at UC Berkeley exploded as engineers were attempting to restore power after a campus-wide outage caused by copper wire theft the prior week. The explosion sent a fireball two stories high and was as wide as a two-lane street. One person was hospitalized with minor burns and three others refused treatment; twenty students were trapped in elevators. UC Berkeley declared a campus-wide state of emergency and ordered a full evacuation at approximately 6:40 PM PDT.

Alerts
3
Response
95 min
Killed
0
Injured
4
Institution
University of California, Berkeley
Public R1 · CA
~42,000 studentsWarnMe
Confirmed Timeline

Alert Sequence

3 messages in sequence

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 ALERTSMS
Approximate reconstruction143 chars
UC Berkeley WarnMe: Campus power outage. Evening classes cancelled. Suspend all lab activities. Avoid campus. Updates at emergency.berkeley.edu

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

WarnMe alert sent at approximately 6:05 PM PDT, about 90 minutes after the power outage began at 4:30 PM PDT on September 30, 2013
Alert preceded the explosion by approximately 25 minutes -- the vault detonated at around 6:30 PM PDT as engineers worked to restore power
The instruction to 'Suspend all lab activities' reflects the danger of energized equipment losing power without controlled shutdown
WarnMe is UC Berkeley's mass-notification system covering SMS, email, phone call, and digital signage
UPDATESMS+35 min
Approximate reconstruction162 chars
UC Berkeley WarnMe: Campus emergency declared. Explosion in electrical vault near California Hall. Campus evacuated. Avoid area. Updates at emergency.berkeley.edu

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

UC Berkeley declared a campus state of emergency at approximately 6:40 PM PDT on September 30, 2013, triggering a full campus evacuation
The explosion in the underground vault north of California Hall was two stories high and as wide as a two-lane street, according to campus spokesman Dan Mogulof
Three people refused treatment for minor burns on scene; one was transported to a hospital
Twenty people were trapped in campus elevators due to the power outage and were freed by approximately 9 PM PDT
ALL CLEARSMS+12h 55m
Approximate reconstruction150 chars
UC Berkeley WarnMe: Campus open. Power restored to most buildings. Classes resume Tuesday. Check emergency.berkeley.edu for building-specific updates.

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

Power was largely restored overnight and the campus reopened for Tuesday October 1, 2013 classes
A secondary explosion from a different underground vault had occurred earlier in September 12, 2013, also related to copper wire theft at the same campus substation
The repeated copper wire theft from the same substation damaged wiring extensively, making the September 30 explosion more severe during the repair attempt
Context

Background

On September 30, 2013, a campus-wide power outage struck UC Berkeley at approximately 4:30 PM PDT. Campus engineers and utility workers moved quickly to restore power, but at around 6:30 PM PDT, the repair effort triggered a catastrophic electrical arc in an underground high-voltage vault just north of California Hall, the administration building at the heart of campus. CNN reported that the fireball was about two stories high and as wide as a two-lane street, with campus spokesman Dan Mogulof confirming the cause appeared to be linked to copper wire theft the prior week. Berkeley News reported that officials declared a campus state of emergency and ordered full evacuation at approximately 6:40 PM PDT. One person was transported to the hospital with minor burns; three others were treated and released at the scene. Twenty students were trapped in campus elevators and freed by 9 PM PDT. A separate electrical explosion had occurred on September 12, 2013 at the same substation, also linked to copper wire theft. The Berkeleyside live blog documented the sequence of events in real time. Power was restored overnight and classes resumed Tuesday, October 1.
Analysis

Key Findings

The explosion was a direct consequence of copper wire theft from a campus substation, illustrating how infrastructure crime can cascade into a campus-wide safety emergency
The September 30 detonation was preceded by an earlier, smaller explosion at the same substation on September 12, 2013 -- the repeated theft had left wiring in a compromised state
A state of emergency was declared for the entire campus, resulting in a mass evacuation of tens of thousands of students, staff, and faculty
Twenty people were trapped in elevators during the power outage, requiring coordinated rescue before the all-clear was issued
Outcome
One person hospitalized with minor burns; three treated at scene. 20 people freed from elevators. Power restored after repairs. Copper wire thieves linked to the incident; underground vault rebuilt. No life-threatening injuries.
Provenance

Sources

  1. Official
    Power system explosion, central campus evacuated (Berkeley News)
    news.berkeley.edu
  2. News
    UC Berkeley campus cleared after explosion (CNN)
    cnn.com
  3. News
    Live blog: Cal explosion sends 1 to hospital, clears campus (Berkeleyside)
    berkeleyside.org
  4. Student Paper
    UC Berkeley officials declare emergency after explosion by California Hall (Daily Californian)
    dailycal.org
  5. News
    UC Berkeley explosion outside California Hall (Christian Science Monitor)
    csmonitor.com
Tags
infrastructure-failureexplosionelectrical-vaultcopper-theftcampus-evacuationpower-outagecaliforniastate-of-emergencywarnme
Added June 2026Updated June 2026Via ingestion