ROCK SPRINGS – Western Wyoming Community College officials say an overloaded transformer Wednesday afternoon caused smoke, but no fire.
The overloaded transformer in the main building’s basement caused a power outage, resulting in a campus closure. Classes and activities on campus resumed their normal schedule Thursday morning after power was restored.
Wednesday’s women’s and men’s home basketball games vs. Casper College have been rescheduled for today with the women playing at 3 p.m. and the men at 5 p.m.
The Rock Springs facility was evacuated shortly after 1 p.m. Wednesday after smoke from the transformer triggered the fire alarm. The transformer was believed to have overheated due to a reduction in the electrical grid’s power supply, according to a release from WWCC.
Despite initial reports from WWCC, it was determined that there was no actual fire.
Western President Karla Leach thanked the Western students and employees for their timely response to Wednesday’s alert, and she credited the campus’s Physical Plant and IT staffs for working diligently to restore power and technology services as soon as possible. She also thanked the Rock Springs Fire Department for its quick response.
“The systems worked exactly as they should, and everyone responded very effectively,” Dr. Leach said.