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Update: Suspected Lightning Strike Causes
Large Phone Outage in Portions of Lewis County

September 04, 2019   05:15 p.m.   By: Nick Altmire
    Lowville, NY- A suspected lightning strike to a Frontier Communications
    microwave tower at Frontier’s Lowville, NY office today is disrupting telephone
    voice service to customers in Lowville and nearby communities, according to a
    statement from Frontier to linkinglewiscounty.com.

    In addition to Lowville, impacted areas include Brantingham, Chase Lake,
    Croghan, Lyons Falls, Stillwater, New Bremen, Petries Corners and Sears Pond.
    Customers in the Boonville, Old Forge and Remsen areas currently cannot
    access Long Distance dialing or voicemail. Frontier Internet services are
    operating normally, according to the statement.

    "Phone service to our valued customer, Lewis County General Hospital, is also
    disrupted and Frontier is coordinating and in communication with their staff.  
    Frontier leaders are also in contact and coordinating with local agencies," the
    statement said.

    "The Hospital has set up a temporary solution until phone service is restored,"
    hospital spokesperson Christina Flint said in a statement. "To reach Lewis
    County General Hospital and Health System, Beaver River or Harrisville Health
    Centers  from 7:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m., residents can call the Hospital's South Lewis
    Health Center at 315-348-8407. The facility phones are working internally, so
    calls can be transferred back to the Hospital switchboard operator who will then
    direct calls accordingly. To contact the hospital between 5:00 p.m and  7:00 a.m.,
    call 315-836-5711."

    “Frontier technicians and crews responded immediately to troubleshoot and are
    continuing to work to make any needed repairs and restore services as quickly
    as possible. Frontier’s facilities are ground-fault protected but the effects of
    lighting are unpredictable and beyond control,” said Julie Murtagh, Frontier’s
    East Region Senior Vice President of Operations. “We will provide updates on
    the status of restorations and thank our customers and the communities we serve
    for their patience.”

    The outage is impacting both residential and business lines. This includes all
    Lewis County government offices and the NYS Court offices in Lewis County,
    according to Lewis County officials.

    Lewis County 911 Operations Coordinator Cheryl LaLonde tells
    linkinglewiscounty.com that the 911 system IS currently working for
    emergency calls. All direct lines and administrative lines at the Sheriff's Office are
    currently down. Residents are asked to ONLY USE THE 911 LINE IN CASE OF
    EMERGENCY. All other inquiries should wait until the phone lines have been
    restored.

    We'll be providing updates as additional information is received from Frontier on
    the status of the outage.