(courtesy of Sarah Bridges- UGA student)

The cable fire at Brown Hall occurred around 9:30pm Monday, and students were evacuated immediately.  Ralph Johnson, associate vice president of Facilities Management for UGA, said  the cause of the fire was unknown.  However, the Athens Fire Department said thermal overload as a result of the cold weather was the reason for the fire.  Last night was one of the coldest night in decades, reaching 13 degrees.

Students were taken to other dorms to stay the night, or were responsible for finding their own place to stay.  The  power was restored at 5:30 a.m. this morning, as the students were free to return.

A Georgia Power customer service representative told Grady NewSource that anyone concerned about power outages in the area should go to their website at georgiapower.com. Customers can sign up for an alert system for text messages, calls, or emails when an outages occurs in the area.

Currently in the Athens area, there were only a few outages reported by Georgia Power, but as of 3:22 today there are none.