Spectrum-Charter Communications and Verizon 4g internet customers in Shasta County awoke to a widespread outages on Tuesday morning after someone cut the internet providers’ cable lines in south Redding.
Outages affected customers in Redding, Shasta Lake, Palo Cedro and Anderson, according to Shasta County Sheriff’s spokesman Tim Mapes and residents on social media.
Vandals cut lines at Highway 273 and Canyon Road before 4:35 a.m. according to the Sheriff’s office. Those lines “supply Charter Spectrum internet and Verizon 4g internet for all communities in the Redding area basin,” Mapes said.
Spectrum customers on social media reported the internet company sent them notices around 3 a.m. their service was down.
As of 3 p.m., crews had repaired most of the delicate fibers in the cut cables, but the last lines are the most difficult to fix, Spectrum spokesman Dennis Johnson said.
However, every customer should have their internet service back by late Tuesday afternoon, according to Johnson, who’s an internet senior director for the media provider’s northwest district.
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When vandals cut the more than 650 strands of fiber line in the south Redding area, they knocked out service to customers in Redding and surrounding communities, said Johnson.
Crews started repairing the fibers early Tuesday morning. By 10 a.m., Spectrum tripled the number of crews on the job, Johnson said.
The sheriff’s office is still investigating the incident, Mapes said, but deputies found “evidence that may identify the person(s) responsible for the vandalism.”
Anyone with information about the incident can report it by calling 530-245-6000.
Business owners lose sales Tuesday
Downtown Redding business owners lost sales to customers carrying no cash or checks on Tuesday.
With the internet still out, she was turning credit and debit card-only paying customers away all day, said Cris Hillman, owner of Janine’s Jewelry at 1414 Yuba St. “Absolutely it impacted business,” she said. “We cannot take credit or debit cards. I can’t order products” or show customers merchandise online, said Hillman.
Hillman said she tried using her cell phone to order products, but doing so meant she had to leave her store and go out “in the street.” She said her shop’s internet was still down as of 2:45 p.m. on Tuesday.
Customers without cash were turned away until internet was restored at the Taste and See Creamery ice cream parlor at 1419 Market St., staff reported. The restoration didn’t happen until 3 p.m.
Jessica Skropanic is a features reporter for the Record Searchlight/USA Today Network. She covers science, arts, social issues and news stories. Follow her on Twitter@RS_JSkropanic and onFacebook. Join Jessica in the Get Out! Nor Cal recreation Facebook group. To support and sustain this work,please subscribe today. Thank you.
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