Anne Halliwell

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A loss of power from Kentucky Utilities to substations that power UK’s campus caused outages in 42 buildings this morning during the first major move-in day, UK spokeswoman Kathy Johnson said.

During the one-hour period without electricity, people were rescued from elevators in the Mining  and Minerals Resources Building, ASTeCC and Patterson Office Tower, Lexington Fire Department battalion chief Joe Best said.

The Lexington Fire Department responded to the calls at 9:56 and 10:11 that morning. They were alerted to the situation in Mining and Minerals by a telephone caller on Rose Street and UK police at the other locations, Best said.

One person was taken out of the ASTeCC elevator via the escape hatch at the top of the elevator and at least one person was helped in Mining and Minerals. When the fire department reached Patterson Office Tower, UK’s Physical Plant Division had already removed most of the trapped people, Best said.

The traffic lights along South Limestone and the buildings in much of North and Central were out from about 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. Given the number of students moving into Kirwan and Blanding on South Campus, move-in was not affected much, Johnson said.

Roselle Hall on North Campus lost power briefly, and Blazer was out for longer, Johnson said.

A protective switch opened on a transmission line that feeds about 3,200 homes and businesses, including the University of Kentucky, said KU PR specialist Liz Pratt. While the company is still investigating the cause of the outage, KU restored power to all of those customers before 11 a.m., Pratt said.

The transmission line was the same that caused an outage Wednesday, Pratt said, although that incident was caused by a lightning strike.