Dear LBNL Colleagues,
Berkeley Lab’s main hill site will remain closed tomorrow, Tuesday, October 29. Power remains out, and the site is in a safe and stable condition.
The Lab’s offsite locations, including JGI in Walnut Creek, are open as usual today. For work locations on the UC Berkeley campus, refer to instructions from https://news.berkeley.edu.
At this time, we are working with PG&E to understand the most likely re-energization scenarios for the main site over the next three days.
Please note that yesterday, PG&E announced that it is monitoring a new strong wind event Tuesday morning through midday Wednesday that could trigger another Public Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS) as early as Tuesday morning, Oct. 29. At this time, we do not know if the Lab will be included in this PSPS event, which could affect the timing of power restoration. We will keep you updated.
Given the uncertainty of when power will be restored at the Lab’s main hill site, staff assigned to work at the site should discuss remote work options spanning the next few days with their supervisor. I appreciate everyone’s patience during this period.
Also, as we communicated yesterday, we have shifted to minimum staffing in the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) and are further restricting access to the main hill site. More information on who is permitted on the site is found in the second question of the Frequently Asked Questions.
When PG&E restores power to the main hill site, operations staff will work as quickly as possible, on rotating 24-hour shifts, to execute the Lab’s power restoration plans in a safe and orderly manner. We will keep you updated throughout this process.
You can stay informed by checking for updates on status.lbl.gov, at 1-800-445-5830, and on a new Twitter account for Lab staff, users, and others: @LBNLstatus.
Please note that air quality in the region is poor. Please take care of yourself. You can visit EPA’s AirNow.gov website for the latest air quality information.
Michael Brandt
Deputy Director, Operations and
Chief Operating Officer