Westar Energy cut power to Kansas University buildings for about 30 minutes Thursday afternoon while it replaced a piece of equipment that was causing power surges earlier in the day.

Westar crews shut down the circuit to KU around 1:30 p.m., and the repairs were finished by 2:10 p.m., said Karla Olsen, a Westar spokeswoman.

Phones still worked during the outage, but several buildings along Jayhawk Boulevard and Sunnyside Avenue were affected, including Strong Hall.

Thursday morning and shortly after noon, at least two false fire alarms had been reported at Watson Library, and dispatchers with the KU Public Safety Office had warned power surges in the system could cause similar alarms in other buildings.

Olsen said a Westar distribution system operator noticed the short power surge early in the afternoon. Crews then began to identify the problem and make repairs, but it caused them to have to turn off the power for a short time.

“If you had your television on 24-7, eventually it’s going to go. This is equipment that obviously has to run 24-7,” Olsen said.

Jill Jess, a KU spokeswoman, said the KU Computer Center reported no damage Thursday afternoon.