Santa Monica College temporarily loses AC on primary campus

On Wednesday, staff at Santa Monica College discovered a leak in the school's central HVAC system, which caused an outage in several buildings on the main campus. 

The library, IT building, pavilion and the gym all lost air conditioning. 

"I was going to study a little bit, but it was just way too hot and I was sweating while I was sitting there," student Richie Chavez, who was enjoying some shade near the library. "So, I just decided to come outside where there's a fresh breeze." 

Fortunately for the school's staff and students, the air conditioning is back on and working at the campus, Santa Monica College's Director of Public Information Grace A. Singh Smith told CBSLA on Thursday.

"Air conditioning has been restored as of the morning of Thursday, Sept. 8 to all previously affected buildings on Santa Monica College's Main Campus, including the gym where basketball practice takes place," Singh Smith said.

As some students filed out of the library, CBSLA saw staff hauling in fans.

According to a statement put out by the school, most of the other buildings on campus had functioning AC and instead of the usual practice of conserving energy, those buildings were being kept cool. 

Terryn Russel, a student on the woman's basketball team, had just finished a two-hour practice and said the heat was serious.

"It's rough. As long as I stay hydrated, I just keep going," she said. "My coach informed me that it will be out for about two weeks. Just got to thug it out and try to have a few fans in there and make it by." 

College administration said it was working to resolve the issue as soon as possible, adding that it's working with faculty and stuff to make necessary adjustments.