NORTH COAST, Calif. – Damage to a fiber cable on Thursday caused interruptions to cell services and some landlines around the North Coast.
According to a statement released to Lake County News by AT&T, fiber damage caused by vandalism on Thursday morning resulted in some customers in northwest California experiencing issues with wireline and wireless services.
“We are making progress on repairing the damage, which occurred between Santa Rosa and Ukiah, and crews will work around the clock until service is fully restored,” the company said.
The statement added, “Vandalism is a serious matter that affects public safety and the community at large. We are cooperating with local law enforcement on an investigation of the matter. We apologize for this inconvenience.”
On Thursday, state Sen. Mike McGuire's office reported that the cut fiber cable – which he said was located in Hopland – affected cellular service and lineline in Mendocino and Humboldt counties, including 911 service, with those services rerouted. He said 911 centers also were affected.
The Mendocino County Sheriff's Office reported having issues with landlines and cell phones being down and only working intermittently, with the agency advising people who needed help in case of emergency to call their local fire station or to call or text alternative numbers, besides 911.
Service in areas of Lake County also was affected, with residents reporting their issues on Lake County News' Facebook page. However, there were not reports of impacts on 911 as there had been in other counties.
In addition to AT&T, several other cell carriers who provide service to Lake County confirmed their customers were experiencing issues as a result of the damaged cable.
Verizon spokeswoman Heidi Flato said the company's network in parts of Mendocino, Lake and Sonoma counties experienced technical issues due to the damaged landline fiber optic cable.
“Verizon Wireless services have been impacted in the towns of Yorkville, Ukiah, Willits, Boonville, Calpella, Hopland, Cloverdale and some areas around Clear Lake,” she said. “Verizon Wireless technicians are working with the landline operator to restore service as quickly as possible. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.
Jeremiah Layman, a senior network field engineer for U.S. Cellular, also confirmed that the network in Lake County experienced a service interruption.
“The interruption was the result of a cut to the fiber-optics cable of a third-party vendor we use to route calls from our cell sites. Our engineers are working diligently with the vendor to fix the issue and restore coverage. Our top priority is providing an excellent wireless experience to our customers in Lake County,” he said.
T-Mobile said its engineers were in touch with a vendor regarding the source of the issue affecting customers. “They are working to restore service in the area as soon as possible,” the company said.
According to McGuire, AT&T told his office that services were expected to be restored sometime overnight.
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