A truck damaged a fibre line in southern Labrador on August 24, knocking out cellular, internet, and residential phone service, Bell Aliant said on X.
The outage also cut 911 calling in the region. Bell Aliant told residents who need emergency help to go in person to the nearest hospital, police station, or fire department.
Crews are working to restore service, with an estimated fix of 11:00 p.m. AT, the company said in a follow-up post.
CBC News reported the same truck-hit-fibre account from a Bell Canada spokesperson, and listed 18 communities without service, including Cartwright, Mary’s Harbour, Port Hope Simpson, Red Bay, and L’Anse au Loup.
This is not a copper theft. It is still the same public-safety problem Bell has been warning about when a single line goes down, whether from a spike in copper thefts or an accident like this one. Similar 911 blackouts hit Waterdown, Ontario in May and rural New Brunswick in January.
Bell also walked away last year from a northern Labrador broadband project after costs jumped, leaving more of the coast on thin backup options when a fibre cut happens.
If you are in the outage zone, assume 911 will not go through until Bell Aliant says service is back.
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