No calls. No texts. No Internet. People in both LaPorte and Porter counties lost phone service after crews accidentally cut a fiber optic line on a damaged utility pole that provided phone and 911 service.
To say things at Wana Pizza in LaPorte County were slow going is putting it lightly.
"I told two people to not come in," said Eric Donahue, Wana Pizza manager.
There was limited phone service for some and a total interruption for everyone else around LaPorte and Porter counties, including the crew at Wana Pizza, since 6 a.m. in the morning.
"We've been open since 10 this morning, and at one point I sent the driver home – no phone calls, no one is going to get a delivery," said Donahue.
Thanksgiving and Christmas Day are the only time the doors close at Wana Pizza. This Memorial Day, things got so bad, Donahue almost made the call to close for the day.
"I thought there wasn't a point to open if we weren't going to have any phones," he said.
WSBT News talked to LaPorte County dispatch to find out what happened.
Dispatchers would only confirm that service was restored sometime after 4 p.m. central time. They referred all other inquiries to the county sheriff public information officer who would return to the office Tuesday, May 29th.
LaPorte Mayor Blair Milo turned to Facebook to inform everyone she didn't expect service to fully up and running again until Tuesday morning. She later told WSBT News that crews mistakenly cut a fiber optic line on a utility pole someone crashed into in Westville.
911 dispatchers realized there was a problem around 6 a.m. central time.
She also said she's working to gather more information.
Milo added her staff will talk about the service interruptions Tuesday. Because the service and back-up lines were damaged, she wants to know what the county can do to stop something like this from happening again.
