CenturyLink, which services the islands with telephone and Internet service, says 911 service has been returned between Lopez Island and Friday Harbor. Spokesperson Jane Kampbell said they hope to have 911 service restored on Orcas, the second most-populous island, by Thursday night using connections from OPALCO, the electric utility serving the islands.
The cut, which happened at about 3:45 am Tuesday morning has left much of Friday Harbor’s business in chaos. Businesses don’t have the ability to process credit cards. Banks are affected, too, with Wells Fargo closed for the time being, Islanders Bank is open, but closing early.
The Friday Harbor Post Office on San Juan Island isn’t able to accept credit or debit cards and cannot track packages.
Kampbell said CenturyLink has divers accessing the situation and said the company will either need to repair or replace the cable, but she did not have an estimated time for full service to return.
State Senator Kevin Ranker said, “It is confirmed that a deep water offshore cable was completely severed. CenturyLink has divers and an ROV (Remotely operated vehicle) on scene. The ultimate goal will be to replace the entire 14,000′ cable, but locating that length of fiber-optic cable will take time.”
In the meantime, some Friday Harbor residents hover outside the library, which has Internet service through OPALCO.
Kampbell said some service is available, but not all cell towers are working. ATT is reportedly installing a temporary cell tower in Friday Harbor for their customers.