The Arnold Branch of the Jefferson County Library, 1701 Missouri State Road, reopened at 9 a.m. today (March 15) after having to be evacuated yesterday when high winds caused an electrical issue.
Arnold Branch manager Meredith McCarthy said there are still a couple of air conditioning units that are not working in the building, but everything else was normal when the doors opened.
The library had to be closed at about 1:30 p.m. Thursday after employees noticed a smoky haze in the building, said Pam Withrow, assistant director for library services.
McCarthy said there were 35 to 40 people in the library when it had to be evacuated.
Rock Community Fire Protection District inspectors determined that high winds caused overhead wires to rub together, causing them to spark and produce the haze in the building, Rock Fire spokesman Ron Harder said.
McCarthy said Ameren employees told her a clip that held two overhead wires apart had broken and blown away as heavy winds swept through the area during the afternoon. The wires rubbed together creating sparks and caused an air conditioning motor to overheat, which led to the smoky haze in the building, according to McCarthy.
Harder said there was no fire.
Because the library had to close, a scheduled program called Boos and Booze: the History of Hauntings of Infamous Beer Barons of St. Louis was moved to the Arnold Recreation Center.
“We want to say a huge thank you to the Arnold rec center and Aging Ahead for hosting us last night,” McCarthy said. “They were kind enough to let us use their space.”