DENVER (KDVR) — Cellphone, landline and internet service could be restored Friday night for Gilpin County after a cut fiber line caused outages since Thursday afternoon.
The Gilpin County Sheriff’s Office announced the phone and internet outage at about 1 p.m. on Thursday, saying that the office was “experiencing phone disruptions” because of the damage, but assuring residents that it did not affect the 911 emergency service line.
“For emergencies, call 911 as usual,” the sheriff’s office said Friday evening. “This situation has been very inconvenient for all affected, but serves as a good reminder to make sure you have alternative methods of communication.”
At 5:30 p.m. on Friday, the agency said that repair crews had worked throughout the day and are hoping to finish repairs by 8 p.m. Friday. The agency said it had partial restoration of its landline service as of 7 p.m.
The sheriff’s office said that it had partial restoration to landline and cell service as of about 7 p.m. on Friday.
At about 2:30 p.m. on Thursday, the agency shared that technicians were working to splice the 11-mile stretch of lines that were cut or damaged. At the time, there was no estimated time of service restoration.
“This fiber line cut is currently causing a major service outage affecting an unknown portion of Gilpin County, impacting businesses, residences, and cellular phone service,” the sheriff’s office said.
The first responder agency asked residents who have Wi-Fi available at home or business to connect cell phones to the Wi-Fi network and ensure that Wi-Fi Calling is turned on in the phone’s settings.
“This may help maintain phone service during the outage,” the sheriff’s office said.
“Once completed, it may take 1 to 3 hours for all network services to be fully restored,” Gilpin County Sheriff’s Office said on Facebook.
The agency shared information about how cellphone network users can reconnect after service is restored. The steps are to toggle the phone’s airplane mode on and off, or turn the phone’s cellular service off and back on to help reconnect to the network.
The sheriff’s office also suggested that residents check in on neighbors, especially neighbors who rely on landlines or have limited communication access.
Anthony Sutton is a business strategist and writer with a passion for management, leadership, and entrepreneurship. With years of experience in the corporate world, he shares insights on business growth, strategy, and innovation through management-opleiding.org.
