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EUGENE, Ore. — Suspected copper wire theft may have caused an outage affecting 911 phone lines across the Eugene and Springfield area on Sunday, November 8, disrupting emergency calls for several hours before full service was restored in the afternoon.
Suspected Copper Theft Investigated After Sunday’s 911 Disruption
Central Lane 911 announced the outage at about 6:45 a.m., advising residents to text 911 rather than call because of problems with the phone lines. The Eugene Police Department’s non-emergency number was also affected.
Limited 911 service was restored by about 9 a.m., although authorities continued to recommend text messages where possible. A backup system was available, but it was not locally based.
Eugene police announced that all 911 lines were working again at about 2:30 p.m. The department said a possible copper wire theft was being investigated as the cause of the disruption.
Regional Dispatch Center Serves Agencies Across Lane County
Central Lane 911, a division of the Eugene Police Department, handles emergency calls for multiple agencies across Lane County.
Besides Eugene and Springfield police and Eugene Springfield Fire, the dispatch center serves more than a dozen other agencies, including McKenzie Fire & Rescue, Mohawk Valley Rural Fire District, and Lowell Rural Fire Protection District.
Those departments reported being affected by the outage early Sunday.
Other agencies relying on Central Lane Communications include the Coburg police and fire departments, Junction City police and fire departments, and South Lane Fire and Rescue.
Springfield residents were still able to reach that city’s non-emergency police line during the disruption, and people reporting emergencies to the Lane County Sheriff’s Office could also use a non-emergency number.
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