On November 18, 2016, at around 11:10 am, a lightning bolt struck the school’s backup generator and created a blackout that lasted for about an hour.  Due to the blackout, students used their phones in order to see where they were going in the dim hallways. After a full period with no power, the school decided to send everyone home. Once the decision was announced — at 12:23 — all the light and power returned.   Fearing that the decision would be reversed, the students rushed out of the school the minute the bell struck at 12:25.  (They didn’t know that the problem was that the water pumps were malfunctioning and school was released for sanitation issues.)