Sierra Medical Center reopens after electrical fire

Sierra Medical Center reopened Thursday after it was closed following a fire in its electrical room. Initially, three floors were evacuated Wednesday afternoon, but by the evening, the entire building was closed because of electrical issues.

Investigators say an electrical fire caused a power outage that lasted until 2:30 a.m. Thanksgiving. But by noon on Thursday, the hospital reopened and was back online.

A spokesperson for SMC said dozens of patients had to be evacuated to nearby hospitals and each patient was transferred with an SMC staff member who was in possession of the patients’ chart. It’s not clear if the evacuated patients are settled into nearby hospitals will be going back to SMC.

“During this holiday period we would like to minimize any further disruption to our patients and their families,” a hospital official said. “The decision to transfer a patient will be made in consultation with the patient’s physician.”