Infuriating reason major California citys entire 911 system went down for two days

A brazen copper wire theft brought Oakland’s 911 emergency system to its knees for nearly two days, leaving police dispatchers scrambling to handle calls in an unprecedented public safety nightmare.The massive communications meltdown began Wednesday night after thieves allegedly vandalized critical AT&T infrastructure, severing copper and fiber-optic lines and knocking out the city’s emergency phone lines, internet and computer-aided dispatch system, according to the East Bay Times.The biggest news, opinion and culture shaping California right now.

Please provide a valid email.By clicking above you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

Never miss a story The Oakland fiasco unfolded as other California communities reported separate 911 disruptions Thursday, including Riverside County and Santa Barbara, where some cellphone users struggled to reach emergency dispatchers.“9-1-1 OUTAGE ALERT We are aware of an outage affecting some cellular users’ ability to call 9-1-1,” the Riverside County Sheriff’s Office posted on X.“If you have an emergency and cannot get through to 9-1-1, please call 951-776-1078.”Authorities in those areas issued alternative emergency numbers and urged residents not to make unnecessary test calls that could further overwhelm dispatchers.Officials have not established that those outages were connected to the Oakland vandalism.The disruption forced authorities to reroute 911 calls to neighboring agencies and temporarily limit police responses to the most serious emergencies.Normal service was finally restored Friday morning, after repair crews worked around the clock to undo the damage caused by the suspected thieves.But the culprits behind the potentially deadly chaos remain on the loose.Oakland Police Chief James Beere warned Thursday that the reckless crime could have had devastating consequences for residents desperately seeking emergency assistance.“This i...