A thunderstorm with high winds caused a large maple tree to fall onto five power poles at the entrance of campus near Manor Drive and College Avenue on March 16. The damage resulted in a 21-hour power outage across the University.
The outage began around 2 p.m. on March 16 and power was restored at approximately 1:30 p.m. on March 17. All classes were canceled for March 17.
Todd Meyers, a spokesperson for Penelec, which provides electricity across central Pennsylvania, said the outage was caused by the same storm system that brought severe damage and fatalities to Missouri and several southern states.
“In Pennsylvania, we experienced heavy winds, with some areas reaching speeds of up to 66 mph,” said Meyers in a phone interview. “It was a potent system that swept across the state in multiple rounds of storms.”
According to Meyers, about 97,000 Penelec customers lost power across multiple counties, including roughly 4,700 in Cambria County.
At the time of the interview with Meyers, 10 workers and flaggers were on campus clearing debris and replacing damaged poles. Meyers anticipated that power to campus would be restored by early Monday afternoon, which was ultimately the case.
Many students described the outage as “apocalypse-like” on YikYak, with comments such as, “so, when does the part with the zombies start?” gaining traction.
While a RAVE alert was sent at 7 p.m. on March 16, several students expressed frustration over what they felt was delayed communication from the University, particularly since power had been lost five hours earlier.
“Dear SFU, it’s been five hours without power. If you could communicate anything about the situation, that would be nice,” one student wrote on YikYak.
“Even if the university doesn’t know yet when the power will be back, they could at least say they’re assessing the situation,” another student posted.
Don Miles, SFU’s Director of Residence Life, said that most buildings on campus have generators that provide power, hot water and heat. However, most of these generators only support essential systems, not entire buildings.
During the outage, students were asked to conserve water.
“Our water treatment plant, which provides clean water, was running on a generator at reduced capacity,” said Miles. “Some students were concerned about water safety, but the water was always drinkable.”
The outage also raised concerns about safely storing medications that require refrigeration. Students voiced their frustrations on Instagram, asking where they could store temperature-sensitive prescriptions.
To address this issue, Miles asked students to check in with their RAs to report medical conditions or medication storage needs.
“We ran extension cords from buildings with larger generators – like Claire, Agnes and the Police Department – to power refrigerators for students who needed them,” said Miles. “RAs were informed so they could direct students to these locations.”
Miles said one of his biggest concerns, however, was security. Some doors continued to function on generator power, while others did not.
“The doors are always locked, but then people just start propping them open instead of calling the police.”
Some students wondered why the University did not utilize its memorandum of understanding with Mount Aloysius College, which allows for temporary relocation of students in emergencies.
The agreement was last used in February of 2024 when Mount Aloysius students were temporarily housed at SFU following a gas leak at the Cresson school.
Miles said that Mount Aloysius doesn’t have the capacity to house all of SFU’s students.
“Initially, Penelec reports suggested we could be without power for two or three days, so canceling classes was our best option,” said Miles.
“If power had remained out, we would have needed to relocate students from buildings without heat, like Francis Hall, to other dorms such as Amici and Giles.”
During the outage, Miles said the University attempted to organize activities, including a dodgeball tournament, but poor lighting in the Stokes Auxiliary Gym made it unsafe. Games were moved into Torvian to create a central hub for students.
Despite the challenges, Miles believes the campus community handled the situation well.
“Things could have been much worse.”
