UC Berkeley Explosion: Power Restored After Massive Blast Caused By Power Failure Injures 4 [VIDEO]

A massive explosion and fire in an underground electrical vault that followed a power outage on the campus of the University of California at Berkeley, resulted in four people suffering minor burns, one of them hospitalized, and a campuswide evacuation, forcing the school to shut down Monday evening. The power outage was reported at 4:40 p.m. on the Cal campus, and the explosion, that happened when electrical crews were trying to restore power on campus, followed two hours later between California and Durant halls.

"The explosion occurred when university engineers were bringing power back online," university spokesman Dan Mogulof said at a news conference, adding that the blast may have been caused by an attempted underground copper wire theft on campus last week. "It now appears the damage caused by these unknown individuals was far more extensive and far more significant than seen and assessed." He added, "The explosion was about two stories high and as wide as a two-lane street. We're very fortunate there were no serious injuries."

Campus officials canceled classes Monday night and sent out an emergency message to students' cell phones and e-mail inboxes alerting them of the explosion and that they leave the main campus area immediately. The campus remained dark Monday night except for the lights of police vehicles patrolling the area and emergency generators providing power for research projects. Officials asked that the public stay away from the main campus until power is fully restored to the campus, although residence halls had been cleared for students to return, according to an incident update from the university.

Most classes will meet as scheduled today after most power was restored to UC Berkeley overnight. However, 11 buildings are currently without power and remain closed. Those are the Alumni House, Bancroft Library, California Hall, Central Heating Plant, Doe Library, Durant Hall, Dwinelle Hall, Dwinelle Annex, Edwards Track (East and West areas), Haas Pavilion and EH&S Facility. According to the university web page, students should assume that classes in these buildings are canceled for the day, but classes in other campus buildings will take place as planned.

Nevertheless, students should check with their academic departments for more information about rescheduling of classes or events. Employees who work in these buildings should check with their supervisor about reporting to work.