SAN CLEMENTE : Construction Work Knocks Out Phones
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More than 450 telephones in the northern section of the city were knocked out of service Monday, apparently after a construction crew severed an underground phone cable, fire officials said.
Emergency phone service to the Fire and Police departments was also severed for a short time around 2:20 p.m. until backup systems came on line, officials said.
“We were back on line as soon as we noticed the interruption in phone service,” said Jack Stubbs, emergency planner for the city Fire Department. “It was just a few minutes.”
Phone company officials say they believe the accident occurred when a backhoe operator doing construction work near the intersection of Avenida Presidio and Calle Neblina severed an underground cable.
“When we got (to the construction site) there was nobody there,” said Linda Bonniksen, a spokeswoman for Pacific Bell. “But it appears as if that is what happened.”
Phone service was expected to be restored by midnight Monday, she said.
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