OJAI : Electricity Still Off at Nordhoff High

Electrical power at Nordhoff High School was still out Thursday following a freak accident that short-circuited the school’s electrical system and caused extensive damage to power lines at the Ojai school.

Electricians worked all day Thursday but still did not know the extent of the damage, said Chris Gorman, maintenance supervisor for the Ojai Unified School District. There was no estimate on when power would be restored.

Classes will be held on a minimum-day schedule today, and students will be let out for Christmas vacation at 11:50 a.m. A diesel-powered generator will be used to operate lights in the school gym for basketball games tonight and Saturday.

More than 3,500 feet of wire was damaged Wednesday when a secretary severed a power line while trying to replace a steel cover over a three-foot-deep electrical vault on a school lawn. More than 900 students and faculty were evacuated after several electrical circuits throughout the school sparked and smoked for several seconds.

Repairing the system will cost at least $15,000, but the cost could be much higher if the school’s transformers have been damaged, Gorman said. Several electricians will be working through the weekend to restore power, but it could be several days before the system is working, he said.

Assistant Supt. Leo Molitor said representatives from the district’s insurance company will visit the campus today to determine if the damage is covered under the district’s insurance policy. If it is not, the district will probably pay for it from a $250,000 fund reserved for economic uncertainties, Molitor said.