Power failure closes Tulare County Courthouse

None of the surrounding homes or businesses were affected. Backup generators kicked on shortly afterwards the power failure, nevertheless would not be enough to power elevators, hundreds of courthouse lights and more than 600 computers, court officials said.

The short circuit caused wires

The short circuit caused wires and cables in a power vault nearly the courthouse to melt, Chernabaeff said. County maintenance crews were called out shortly afterwards midnight to check the courthouse and Main Jail. Phones at the Tulare Courthouse, which run on a VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) or voice-over Internet protocol, were as well shut down because they are controlled by servers at the Visalia courthouse. They were fully functional early Wednesday morning.

For the more than 240 felony and civil cases Wednesday, they will have to be rescheduled. Those dates but, won't be determined until courthouse staff can access records and files. A member from each department is expected to be taking calls from the public today and Friday to answer questions.

The Superior Court

Besides the Superior Court, other departments affected include: probation, the county clerk, information research, district attorney, public defender, purchasing, assessor/clerk's office and the law library.

Blake Clower spent Tuesday night with friends at Chili's Grill and Bar in Tulare eating dinner and drinking a few beers. He was scheduled to start a 180-day jail sentence Wednesday afterwards pleading to auto theft charges last month. The Tulare man took a picture of the "Courthouse Closed" signs with his cell phone to prove to the judge that he was there when he was supposed to be.