Electrical Line Struck At W&L
A contractor was injured Monday after striking a 13,000-volt electrical line during construction work at Washington and Lee University’s Heating and Cooling Plant on East Denny Circle. The incident sparked a small fire and led to a widespread power outage across campus.
According to Lexington Fire Chief Ty Dickerson, the building was believed to be energized after the strike, and fire crews had to wait for Dominion Energy to cut power before they could inspect the site. No additional fire hazards were found during the sweep, Dickerson said.
At 12:41 p.m., the university issued a campus-wide alert noting that construction on its infrastructure project had caused an “unplanned power outage” and warned that electricity might not be restored until the end of the day. The school shifted to remote operations for most staff and canceled all on-campus events.
Essential employees were required to report to work unless directed otherwise by supervisors, while all other employees were instructed to work remotely.
The injured contractor was treated on-site. No other injuries were reported.
