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Vandals cause Telus outage for northern B.C. communities

Technicians on site confirmed the damage was caused by vandals attempting to steal copper cables, who cut through the fibre lines. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

Telus customers in many communities in northern B.C. were without service for a few hours on Monday morning due to vandalism.

Telus said a fibre cut affected customers in Masset, Prince Rupert, Terrace, Hazelton, Smithers and Burns Lake, cutting out internet, TV, home phone and wireless services.

Technicians on site confirmed the damage was caused by vandals attempting to steal copper cables, who cut through the fibre lines.

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They are bringing in specialized equipment to repair the extensive damage, Telus said in a statement.

Emergency roaming has been activated so customers can use their cellphones and 911 service remains available.

Landline service is available to some customers in the affected communities.

TELUS said it anticipates that services will begin restoring for customers across the region between mid-afternoon and Monday evening.

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RCMP said an investigation has been launched into what happened, but it is in the early stages.

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