Local News

Fiber Damage and Communication Update

Jul 24, 2014

Okanogan County Communications systems were damaged further by the storm which moved through north eastern Washington late July 23rd.

High winds and heavy rain and hail were reported throughout the area and Fiber Carriers are reporting that this caused multiple breaks in a Noanet fiber optic cable that runs between Tonasket and Spokane.

This Fiber Optic route is very important to the area because it is being used to re-route traffic after the Carlton Fire burned through fiber in South Okanogan County.

Many services in the area are not available as a result of the damage to both fiber routes. Effected services include Cellular phone service from both Verizon and AT&T, 911 phone service, many data services for business and government computer systems and in some cases internet services.

The Tonasket – Spokane fiber route was damaged in several places. The worst damage appears to be a 4 mile span which experienced multiple breaks due to the storm. Crews worked through the night to restore services and are now working on a plan to re-route traffic around the damaged area.

A firm time to restore services is not available; however services may be restored later today depending on how many additional problems are discovered as crews bring the fiber route back online.

While 911 services are down; people are being asked to call Okanogan County’s Dispatch Center at 422-7232 for emergency response.