The washout of a SaskTel fibre optic cable has cut off cellphone, land line and Internet service in northwest Saskatchewan.
The communities affected include Beauval , Buffalo Narrows, Canoe Narrows, Dillon, Ile-a-la-Crosse, La Loche, and Patuanak.
SaskTel says the outage affects about 3,600 land line customers.
The break was reported early this morning.
SaskTel spokesperson Michelle Englot says it’s not known when repairs can be made, but the outage is expected to last all day.
“We do have technicians who have found where it is located, six kilometres south of the Waterhen tower”, she says. “It is also a 10-km hike through bush and swamp to get to the one side of the cut. So, at this time, we are looking at acquiring equipment and personnel needed for the repair”.
For people with satellite service, there will be updates posted on the SaskTel website.