A power outage occurred at around 6 p.m. Thursday, causing 169 Duke Energy customers in Bloomington to lose power, according to Duke’s Outage Map.
The outage was caused by an object coming into contact with the power lines, according to the map. The estimated time of restoration is 9:30 p.m.
The power outage is affecting areas of campus and Bloomington, according to an IU Notify Bloomington alert sent at 6:48 p.m. Duke Energy is working to restore power.
Power was restored to campus residence halls, the IMU and other areas, and full restoration is expected soon, according to an IU Notify Bloomington alert sent at 9:44 p.m.
The IMU lights up two large candles at the start of the holiday season during the annual Light Up the Night holiday celebration event. This year’s event is scheduled to take place 7 p.m. Thursday.
The IDS is unsure if the candle lighting and the power outage are related.
Students around the IMU said the power went out in the IMU, the Chemistry Building, Goodbody Hall, Ballantine Hall, Franklin Hall and Wells Library.
Fire trucks arrived around 10 minutes later. One truck stopped outside of the Chemistry Building. Indoor lighting could be seen flashing for a few minutes through the building’s windows.
IU graduate student Megan Knobeloch said they were in the Chemistry Building when the lights suddenly went out. They said all the instruments and equipment turned off and people dropped everything to leave the building. Only the hallway lights were on, they said.
Chemistry students said they got an email from the department head telling them the fire alarm was cleared and to leave if they didn't need to be in the building.
IU junior Cosette Wu said they were in the chemistry library studying for an exam that was supposed to happen at 7:15 p.m. Wu said they weren't sure if the exam was still going to happen. In the room Wu was in, Wu said, the lights didn't turn back on, so Wu guessed there were no emergency lights.
"We all just kept studying after the initial, kind of, freak-out," Wu said.
IU junior Keatan Frohning said the building smelled strange after the power went out. Others said the same, he said. Frohning guessed the labs couldn't fumigate due to the outage.
IMU kitchen utility attendant Dwayne Murphy said a backup generator was running the few lights that stayed on throughout the building.
All the IMU dining concepts closed after the outage. Goodbody dining is closed, but dining services are still available at Wright, Forest and McNutt, according to an IU Notify Bloomington alert sent at 7:16 p.m.
The Jacobs School of Music Ballet Theater’s production of “The Nutcracker” was scheduled to open 7:30 p.m. Dec. 1. Due to the outage, the performance has been rescheduled to Sunday, Dec. 4, Grace Lazarz, ticketing, sales and house manager, said.
The time has not yet been determined, but Lazarz said anyone who has a ticket for the original performance will be able to use that ticket for the same seating for Sunday's performance. If a ticketholder cannot attend the rescheduled performance, they will receive a full refund.
This story will be updated.
