Dear Laboratory Colleagues,
Two Lab sites, the main hill site in Berkeley and the Joint Genome Institute in Walnut Creek, have a high likelihood of having power shut off on Saturday as part of a PG&E public safety power shutdown (PSPS). This expectation is based on weather forecasts of extremely high winds and dry conditions Saturday evening through Monday morning.
In order to prepare, as of Saturday, Oct. 26 at 7 a.m. the main hill site and JGI will be closed to all except those individuals on the emergency-essential personnel access list. Once the Lab is closed, Blackberry Gate will be the only gate available for entrance and exit.
The Lab’s Emergency Operations Center has been activated to begin preparations. Facilities teams will work through the night to start shutting down non-essential systems and buildings, with other systems and buildings to be de-activated in the morning.
We have asked that you prepare in the following ways:
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Before you leave work today, prepare your workspace as you would prior to the annual holiday break. This means cleaning out breakroom refrigerators of perishables; powering off computers, monitors, and peripherals; and turning off lights and closing all windows and doors when you leave.
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For research laboratory and specialized facility operations, work with your line manager on shutdown preparations. These guidelines can help get you started.
Because weather conditions can change, a decision to resume Lab operations will be made as the situation develops and we have more information from PG&E.
We will continue to provide information on the operations of the Lab at status.lbl.gov, as well as on 1-800-445-5830 and on the Lab’s new Twitter handle for time-critical updates, @LBNLstatus. Please recheck these resources through the weekend for the latest information.
Michael Brandt
Deputy Director, Operations and
Chief Operating Officer