By Luke Holthouse and David Lim

Friday night’s football game against Sylmar was delayed to 7:30 p.m. due to power outages on the Upper School campus, Athletic Director Vince Orlando said.

A transformer at Coldwater and Mulholland caught fire around 4:20 p.m., resulting in the power outages and the closure of Ventura Boulevard, according to the Encino-Tarzana Patch. Ventura Boulevard reopened before 6 p.m. as the fire was being put out.  

Athletic Director Darlene Bible confirmed power outages before the game on campus in the Munger Science Center and Seaver Academic Center. Although the scoreboard remained dark for most of the game, the field lights were still operating because they are connected to a separate electrical system, Bible added.

Another brush fire near the Getty Center flared up earlier in the afternoon and scorched over 70 acres by 9 p.m. Friday night. The larger fire, which resulted in the closure of Sepulveda Boulevard, still is not under control. 

Director of Sports Medicine Milo Sini said smoke from either of the fires did not cause enough health concerns to cancel Friday’s game.

Bible said the decision on whether the game would be cancelled belonged to Sini and the varsity football team’s coaching staff.

The junior varsity football game began at 4:00 p.m. and continued without interruption. The Chronicle canceled its scheduled video broadcast of the varsity game due to the outage.