See more of our coverage in your search results.
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 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 is a perfect example of theft leading to something far more severe and serious that could result in people losing their lives,” Beere said during a news conference.
The nightmare unfolded shortly after 8:30 p.m. Wednesday, when police dispatchers watched their computer-aided dispatch system, known as CAD, suddenly freeze and flash an error message.
When employees attempted to use emergency and non-emergency phone lines, they discovered those systems were also down, along with internet service.
Within roughly an hour, incoming 911 calls were diverted to the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office, which relayed emergencies to Oakland police dispatchers.
Oakland dispatchers also relocated to other emergency communications centers as officials scrambled to keep critical services operating.
While fire dispatchers continued handling medical and fire emergencies, police were forced to prioritize the most urgent criminal incidents as technicians raced to restore the crippled network.
Beere, a nearly 30-year veteran of the department, said he had never witnessed a communications failure of such magnitude.
“I’ve never seen our optic lines being non-functioning, our phones being disconnected,” he said.
AT&T confirmed Thursday that criminals had damaged both copper and fiber-optic facilities, disrupting emergency call routing for some customers in the Oakland area.
By Thursday afternoon, the city’s computer-aided dispatch system was back online, but phone service remained impaired, leaving authorities dependent on temporary emergency communications arrangements.
Technicians had been working since Wednesday night to repair the destruction, the telecommunications giant said.
It wasn’t until Friday morning that city officials announced full phone service had finally been restored.
The alarming breakdown exposed how vulnerable an entire city’s emergency response network can be to criminals targeting valuable communications cables.
Police have launched an investigation into the theft and vandalism, with Beere revealing that investigators were pursuing leads and that he had contacted the FBI.
No arrests have been announced.
The department urged residents to immediately report suspicious individuals cutting or removing communications cables, warning that such crimes can have consequences far beyond stolen metal.
City officials are now examining ways to prevent another potentially catastrophic failure.
Beere said he had already discussed alternative technologies with the fire chief, including systems that would not depend on vulnerable ground-based communications lines.
Oakland Chief Information Officer Tony Batalla said the city would continue working with AT&T and other partners to strengthen its infrastructure.